


Homeward Bound

by DianaandAlicia



Series: Homeward Bound [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 1870s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Historical, Child Echo, Child John, Child Octavia, Domestic Fluff, F/M, happy family feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-03-17 00:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18953725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaandAlicia/pseuds/DianaandAlicia
Summary: 1800s Bellarke.AKAThe 100, but then turn it into Little House on the Prairie.





	1. A Sunny Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! So, with this story, I just wanted to write some historical fiction. If any of y'all read the Little House on the Prairie books before, this story will seem a bit like them, since a lot of my inspiration came from that series. 
> 
> Before you begin, a few notes:
> 
> -This has no beta, so any mistakes are mine.  
> -In this story, the age gap between Bellamy and Octavia is bigger than what's canon on the show.  
> -In this story, John (Murphy) and Echo are the same characters like Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia, but they are Clarke and Bellamy's biological children instead of friends in this story.  
> -Because I don't really write for The 100, everyone might seem out of character. That's ok though because it's my AU and I can do what I want.  
> -Lastly, I know it's a fad to hate on Echo right now, but there will be no Echo hate with this story. In this work she is Clarke and Bellamy's child so any Echo hate based on what's going on in the show will not be tolerated. I personally love Echo on the show, Tasya is doing a great job portraying her and I don't think Echo deserves the hate that she gets.
> 
> Thanks for taking time to read my story, I hope you like it!

It was a sunny morning on the farm. Clarke Griffin-Blake stood by the fireplace, adding more wood, getting ready to restart the fire that had turned to glowing embers overnight. 

It was a quiet morning, her husband Bellamy was in the barn, taking care of the animals, and their six-year-old son John was with him. The couple’s four-year-old daughter Echo was busy making the trundle bed that she and John shared, so Clarke could push it back to its rightful place under her and Bellamy’s bed. 

Octavia, Bellamy’s ten-year-old sister, was out gathering the laundry hanging from the clothesline. She has been living with Clarke and Bellamy for about two years now, after a horrific wagon accident killed both of the Blake parents. Bellamy, already overprotective of his sister, immediately took her in and Clarke welcomed the girl with open arms, considering her like a daughter the moment she moved in. 

“Mama?” Echo’s tiny voice broke the silence.  

“Yes Darling?” 

“What are we going to do today?” 

“Well, after breakfast Papa has to go into town to pick up the plow that he had ordered. Then he has some business with Mr. Nelson to take care of. Octavia and I will be working around the house. We’ll need you and John to play outside today, to keep from getting underfoot.” 

“Mama, may I go with Papa?” 

“I don’t mind, but you’ll have to ask him.” 

“Ask me what?” Bellamy asked as he came back into the cabin with John. 

Clarke smiled as her daughter looked up at her. “Go ahead, ask Papa your question.” She coaxed, wanting to create an environment for all of her children where it was safe to ask her or Bellamy any question they had. 

“Papa, may I go with you to town today?” 

“Clarke are you ok with it if she comes with me?” 

“I don’t mind.” 

Bellamy nodded and knelt down so he was closer to his daughter’s level. “Will you be a good girl and listen to me while we are out today?” 

“Yes Papa!” 

“Then you may come with me. But, if you misbehave or disobey me, you won’t be allowed to do something like this until I think you’re old enough. Do I make myself clear Echo?” 

“Yes Papa.” She replied solemnly. All the kids knew that when Bellamy was serious like this, he meant every word. 

“Good. We’ll leave after breakfast.” Bellamy said, sealing the deal. 

A few minutes later, Octavia came in with the clothing, putting the pile on the bed to fold or hang up. 

Clarke went to work with making breakfast and all the while, John was clinging to her skirt, pressing his face against her leg. 

“Bellamy?” 

“Yes Clarke?” 

“Did something happen in the barn that I need to be made aware of?” She asked raising her eyebrow and gesturing at their son. John’s behavior was out of the ordinary for him. Sure, he loved to spend time near his mother, but it’s been years since the last time he clung so tight to Clarke. The last time he’s done this was when he was a little under Echo’s age. 

“Yeah. I told him to feed Blossom, like usual, but when he got close, Rose snapped her teeth at him. It’s a miracle that I was there because that horse would have bitten him pretty badly if I wasn’t able to get her away.” 

“Is something wrong with Rose? John’s been feeding Blossom every morning for the past few months and there haven’t been any problems.” 

Blossom was Rose’s filly. After the foal was born, Bellamy gifted her to John. Eventually Blossom would be big enough for John to ride, but before that time, Bellamy wanted to teach his son about responsibility, and having to take care of his own horse was the perfect example. As John gets older, Bellamy won’t have to help him out with the bigger jobs as much, and Blossom will be all of John’s responsibility. 

“I have no idea. I’ll keep an eye out when we go to the barn the next few days. I won’t let John get hurt. I think Rose’s reaction just startled him is all.” 

“Is that what’s wrong John? Did Rose scare you?” Clarke asked gently, detaching her son from her dress so he could look at her. 

“Uh huh.” John confirmed, wiping his nose. His eyes were tearful and Clarke could tell that he was about to cry. 

“John, come here.” Bellamy said gently, patting his lap.  

Upon hearing that, John ran over to his father sitting on his lap and leaning his head against his chest. 

“It’s ok to cry.” Bellamy said, in a soft, soothing voice. “It’s ok to be scared too. For the past few months, you’ve been going through a daily routine of taking care of Blossom, and today, that routine was interrupted. You weren’t expecting Rose to act like she did, and when she was about to bite you, it was scary. It’s ok to act on your feelings. If you want to cry, you can cry. Mama and I won’t judge you for feeling how you feel.” 

Clarke smiled, hearing that. She and Bellamy were often looked at strangely by the other parents in the community because of their unorthodox parenting skills. They lived on a small farm in Wisconsin, about two miles away from town. Many of the residents living in the area were stricter with their children. Many fathers were veterans of the great war that divided the nation. Because of this, these fathers were teaching their sons how to be tough, how to not cry.  

Bellamy and Clarke knew that John was more sensitive than the average child, but they also knew that letting him express his emotions freely, without judgement was the better way to go. It was definitely better than telling him to “man up” or punish him if he deviated from what the other families saw as the norm. 

“I love you Papa.” 

“I love you too, John.” Bellamy responded, ruffling his son’s hair. 

Clarke smiled at that exchange and turned around to continue making breakfast. She loved her husband. The biggest thing she loved about him was the fact that he was such a great father. He was calm and gentle, never raising his voice at his children and rarely ever punishing them. If the children ever did something wrong, he’d take them to the side and gently talk to them, explaining why what they did wrong was wrong. Both parents thought that open communication with their children was important. Talking to them calmly and openly, as if they were their peers, would help prepare them for any civilized discussions they’d have with others in the future.  

Fifteen minutes later, breakfast was ready and the entire family sat down to eat. 

“What did Mr. Nelson need you for?” Clarke asked, glancing at her husband. Bellamy swallowed his mouthful of cornbread and wiped his mouth on his napkin before answering. 

“He said that there is more land opening up in the west. Enough land for people to have a mighty fine farm if they’d like. He has more information about it.” 

“I see.” Was all Clarke said, not that happy to hear this news. If Bellamy was going to be getting more information about land developments out west, that meant he was seriously thinking of moving. 

“Why would Mr. Nelson need land out west if he owns the hotel?” Echo asked, too young to understand. 

“Never mind for now. Finish your food. You wouldn’t want Papa to leave without you, would you?” Clarke asked, wanting to change the subject. 

Echo made a surprised face before going back to her meal, causing Bellamy to chuckle. 

“Don’t worry Clarke, we can talk about it later.” He said, noticing that Clarke was less than pleased with the idea. 

After breakfast, Octavia started on the dishes while Clarke sat Echo down and helped her finish getting ready. As her mother braided her hair and tied the end with a yarn bow, Bellamy put the girl’s shoes on, fastening the tricky buttons for her. Once the sash of her pinafore was tied and her sunbonnet was on, Echo was ready to go. 

Bellamy hitched the two horses to the wagon and waited out front for Clarke to bring Echo out of the house. 

“Now, you behave for your father today Echo. Listen to what he tells you and make sure you stay by him. Do you understand?”  

“Yes Mama.” Echo said, ready to start this new adventure with her father. 

“Alright then. Up you go!” Clarke sang as she picked her daughter up and handed her over to her husband. Bellamy sat Echo next to him on the wagon seat and smiled at his wife. 

“We’ll be back before noon.” Bellamy promised, before waving at his son and sister from their spots at the door. 

“Ok. I love you both.” 

“I love you too Mama!” 

“Love you Clarke.” 

With that, Bellamy started the horses and the two were off, driving down the pathway that led to town. 

John went back into the house and Clarke turned to Octavia. 

“Shall we?” She asked with a smile, referring to the work that needed to be done for the day. Octavia nodded and the two went inside, to get started on their day. 

   
 


	2. A Trip to Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy and Echo go to town.

It was a beautiful clear day. As Bellamy drove the wagon down the pathway, the sun made Echo feel warm, and the slow breeze felt refreshing on her face. It was perfect weather for the middle of summer.

She sighed contently and leaned over, resting her head against  Bellamy’s arm.

“Papa, I wish everyday was nice like this.”

“I do too.” Bellamy agreed. “Such a peaceful day.”

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the town, and it was bustling with activity. People were going in and out of buildings, driving wagons down the road. Though the school was closed until fall, a group of children who lived in town were playing games in the school yard.

“Papa, is that the school that Octavia goes to?”

“Yes, that’s the school. This fall John will be joining her too.”

“May I go?”

“When you’re a little bit older. Once you’re John’s age, you’ll be allowed to go to school with him and Octavia.”

“But I’ll be lonely if John and Octavia are gone all day.”

Bellamy nodded in understanding.

“It’ll take some getting used to, but if you think about it, you’ll have me and Mama all to yourself during the day.”

“I guess.” Echo sighed. While she did love spending time with her parents, she still liked playing with John and Octavia better. She didn’t want to hurt her father’s feelings, but Bellamy wasn’t as good at playing with paper dolls as  Octavia was. 

The two arrived at the store where the plow was waiting and Bellamy parked the wagon out front, tying the horses to the posts. He got out of the wagon and picked Echo up, setting her on the ground and grabbing her hand.

Echo gasped in amazement, the moment they walked into the store. Shelves were stocked full of items, things that she’s never seen before. Bolts of fabric were against the wall with each one being prettier than the last. She let go of Bellamy’s hand and wandered over to the fabric, staring at each pattern, trying to pick her favorite one. 

“Echo.” She heard her father say. She quickly turned and saw Bellamy smiling at her.

“You may look, but don’t touch.” He reminded, before stepping up to the counter to talk to the shop keeper about the plow.

Echo walked along the length of the wall, admiring each bolt of fabric, before eventually getting through them all. She turned around to look for her father and fear settled in when he was nowhere to be found.

“Papa?” She called out, walking closer to the counter.

“Papa?” She asked again, a bit louder this time, when Bellamy didn’t answer.

She started to panic then, horrible thoughts of her father leaving her purposefully behind started to spin through her brain.

She was about to ask the shop keeper behind the counter if he knew where her father went, but before she could, she saw Bellamy walk back into the store with another man. Echo put two and two together and realized that the other man was helping Bellamy put the plow in the wagon.

As Bellamy walked closer to Echo, he noticed that something was wrong, that she was upset about something.

“Echo, what’s wrong?”

“I turned around and you were gone.”

“Oh Honey, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. I should have let you know.”

“I was afraid that you left me behind.”

“Echo, I would never.” Was all Bellamy said, picking her up and setting her against his hip.

Now that she was with her father, Echo was starting to feel better, but even after being reunited, she still wanted to get out of the store.

By how hard Echo was clinging to him, Bellamy could guess that she wanted to leave, so he walked out the door and sat her on the wagon seat. “Let’s go visit Mr. Nelson, and then we can go home.”

It only took a few minutes to drive the wagon to the hotel, and once they arrived, Echo clung to Bellamy for dear life, not letting go. He carried her into the hotel and the two waited at the desk until Mr. Nelson could see them.

“Bellamy! What brings you by?” A cheerful voice boomed after a minute.

“Hello Joseph. We had to come by and pick up a new plow. I was thinking more about the land developments you were talking about earlier, and I knew you had more information.” Bellamy said as he shook Mr. Nelson’s hand.

“And is this Miss Echo?” Mr. Nelson asked, smiling at the little girl in Bellamy’s arms. “She’s gotten so big! The last time I saw her, she was just a little baby.”

“Yes Sir. She’s going to be five in November.”

Remembering what her parents taught her, Echo immediately held her and out and said “How do you do?” When Mr. Nelson gave it a shake. After she was introduced, Bellamy and Mr. Nelson went right down to business and started to talk about land out west. They were using a lot of big words and phrases that Echo didn’t understand, so she rested her head against Bellamy’s shoulder and dozed off.

The familiar sound of the stove rattling stirred Echo from her sleep, and she slowly sat up. She was back in the cabin, laying on the big bed that Bellamy and Clarke slept in. She saw John setting the table for lunch, and Octavia was by the fireplace, stirring the rabbit stew that was cooking in the kettle. 

“Mama?” Echo asked, after seeing Clarke pull a new loaf of bread out of the oven.

“Yes Echo?” The mother responded, putting the bread down and going over to the bed.

Echo didn’t respond, instead she yawned, rubbed her eyes, and then held her hands out, wanting her mother to hold her. Clarke eyed Echo suspiciously, and placed a hand to her daughter’s forehead. Usually the four-year-old isn’t so tired during the day and she might be getting sick. Upon finding no fever, Clarke picked Echo up and hugged her close to her.

“Where’s Papa?” Echo asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Outside. He’ll come in when lunch is ready.” Clarke explained, sitting Echo down on her chair at the table.

It wasn’t long until lunch was ready and everybody gathered at the table to eat. Octavia, John, and Echo ate quietly, and Bellamy told Clarke about the trip to town. John and Octavia listened intently, but Echo didn’t focus on the conversation, since she already experienced it.

Towards the end of the meal, Bellamy started to talk about visiting Mr. Nelson, and Clarke’s demeanor changed from calm and cheerful to serious in a matter of seconds. Talking about Mr. Nelson was ok, but the moment Bellamy mentioned the land developments out west, Clarke interrupted him. 

“Not right now Bellamy. After lunch.” The children had no idea what Clarke was talking about, but they knew when their mother spoke seriously like that, she meant business. Whatever Bellamy wanted to discuss, Clarke didn’t think that it was appropriate to mention around the children, especially John and Echo.

Octavia was ten years old, and that was old enough to know that Bellamy was hinting at wanting to move from their cozy farm in Wisconsin out to the open prairie. The eldest child however, knew that Clarke didn’t want the younger children to think or worry about something that wasn’t decided on yet, so she stayed quiet on the matter. Plus, even if she wanted to speak on the topic, she knew she couldn’t. They were at the table, and at the table, children are to be seen and not heard, and only speak when they are spoken to first.

Lunch wrapped up pretty quickly after that, and Octavia got up to go help with the dishes but Clarke stopped her.

“Octavia, you’ve been such a help to me today, I’ll take care of the dishes. Why don’t you take John and Echo outside and play with them?”

Due to the tone in Clarke’s voice, Octavia knew that it wasn’t a suggestion. Her sister in law wanted to talk to her brother in private, without three children underfoot and listening.

“Yes Clarke.” Octavia said, taking Echo’s hand and leading her outside. John followed close behind and once he shut the door behind him, Clarke turned to her husband.

“ We need to talk.”


	3. Decisions We Make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy and Clarke talk about the land developments out west and the children get in a fight.

“Talk about what?” Bellamy asked, though he had a pretty good idea. 

“Why do you want to move? We have a nice farm here, and we have lived in this area for our whole lives. Octavia goes to school in town and John will join her next year. Why would you want to throw all of this away and live on unsettled land in the middle of nowhere?” 

“But this will give us a chance to have more land, more space to grow crops. With more crops, we can make more money. Plus, you’ve seen how more and more people are moving out here, starting farms of their own. There’s less game to hunt and the creek a quarter mile down the road will be all fished out within a year or two at this rate. Imagine it Clarke, a farm of our own, out on the prairie with plenty of space to fish, hunt, grow crops, all without having to worry about it getting so crowded."

He pulled out the papers that Mr. Nelson gave him and handed them to Clarke. 

“Look these over. Maybe you’ll change your mind.” 

Clarke sighed, but took the papers anyway. While she didn’t want to leave, Bellamy did make some good points. Over the past year, more and more families have started to move into the area, to start farms of their own. Because of this, Bellamy hasn’t been able to come home with as much fish or game because some of the places where he fished and hunted turned into someone’s private property. 

“If we were to go, when would we go?” She asked, looking around the snug cabin that they’ve called home for eight years now. 

“Well, in order to cross the Mississippi, we’ll need to go at a time when the river is frozen. We wouldn’t be able to cross it when it’s flowing at full power, So I’d say middle to late February, early March at the latest."

“It’s the end of June now.” Clarke remarked, realizing that even if they were going to move, the little family still had a little over half a year yet in the house. 

“So, you’d be willing to go?” 

Clarke sighed, and put the papers down. “I’ll always have a longing for this place because you and I were both born and raised here. This community will always be our home. However, I do know that we need to be reasonable. You’re right, with so many people moving to these parts, it’ll be harder to provide for ourselves, and resources will only grow more and more scarce. We should go to the place where we’ll be able to keep our children well fed and happy. If you think it’s best for the family Bellamy, I believe we should give it a chance.” 

Bellamy smiled when he heard that and leaned over, kissing Clarke on the cheek. 

“We’ll leave in late February. This way, I can have enough time to harvest and sell this round of crops and Octavia and John can go to school until we leave. I can post around town that I’m looking for an offer on the farm, and with all that money we’ll earn, we’ll have enough to have a house and farm where we settle.” 

“Sounds good.” Clarke said, getting up from her spot so she could start clearing the table. While Clarke washed the dishes, Bellamy sat down in the doorway, so he could look over the papers again and also keep an eye on the children playing in the yard. 

Everything was going fine until he heard shouting. Looking up, he saw Echo on her hands and knees, with John apologizing profusely. Bellamy stood up, to see what happened, and before he could go over, Echo stood up and slammed her fist into her brother’s right eye, causing John to start to cry. 

“Echo!” Bellamy scolded, kneeling down to make sure that John wasn’t seriously injured. Luckily, he’d only have at most a black eye. 

“John go into the house by Mama.” Was all he said, before turning to Octavia. 

“When I looked up, I saw Echo on the ground but I didn’t see what happened before that.” 

“We were playing tag and John accidentally tagged Echo too hard and she fell. It was an accident though, he didn’t mean it, and then she punched him in the face.” 

“I see. Thank you, Octavia.” He said, before turning to Echo. “I’m very disappointed in you Young Lady. Come with me.” He continued, taking Echo by the arm and bringing her into the house. 

He took a chair from the table and sat it in one of the corners before sitting her down on the chair without another word. 

Even though a timeout wasn't painful, Echo still cried, sobbing harder and harder the longer she was in the corner. She was embarrassed and ashamed, but mostly she was heartbroken in the fact that Bellamy was disappointed in her. To Echo, that was the equivalent of Bellamy telling her that he didn’t love her anymore. After a few minutes she stopped sobbing and just sat quietly in the corner. She heard Bellamy tell Clarke that he was going to be checking the fish traps by the creek and Octavia and John wanted to come with him. 

Once they were gone, it was just Echo and Clarke in the house, and that made Echo feel a little more at ease. 

“Even if Papa doesn’t love me anymore, hopefully Mama still does.” The little girl thought to herself, crossing her arms and staring intently at the corner. 

About five minutes after Bellamy, Octavia, and John left, Echo heard Clarke settle in her rocking chair. 

“Echo, can you come here please?” She asked, in a calm and gentle voice. It was a voice that let Echo breathe a sigh of relief. Her mama still loved her. 

The little girl shot up from her chair and went over by her mother, climbing up on her lap. Clarke held her close and rocked silently for a bit, before beginning her lecture. 

“You know that Papa and I have told you multiple times that You, John and Octavia are not allowed to fight with each other. Why did you punch your brother in the face?” 

“Because he pushed me!” 

“Sweetie, he pushed you by mistake. He was so excited with the game of tag that he used too much force when he tagged you. He didn’t mean to push you to the ground. And Papa told me that he apologized right away and tried to help you stand up.” 

“Oh.” Was all Echo said, not having been aware that it was an accident. After she fell, she only focused on her anger towards her brother, thinking that he pushed her on purpose. 

“Papa told John that when you play games like tag, he needs to be gentler with you. You’re still very small Echo, and John isn’t quite that big yet himself, but he is stronger than you because he is older, so Papa told him that he needs to keep it in mind that you’re littler than him and it’s easier for you to fall or get hurt. When Papa, John and Octavia get back from the creek, I want you to apologize to your brother.” 

“Oh, I will Mama, I will.” 

“That’s my good little girl.” 

“Mama, do you still love me even though I was bad?” 

“Echo, first off, you were not and are not bad. You were naughty, but Papa punished you and you learned your lesson. After you apologize to John, everything will be as it was again. Second, Papa and I will always love you. You’re a child, and every now and then, children misbehave. It’s all a part of the learning process and growing up. As you grow older, you’ll know more and Papa and I will never have to punish you because you’ll know not to misbehave like you did today. Papa and I will always love you Baby.” 

Upon hearing that, Echo shook her head and felt tears fill up in her eyes. 

“Papa hates me.” She bawled, the tears that were blurring her vision escaping and falling down her cheeks. 

“Sweetie, Papa would never hate you. What makes you think that he hates you?” 

“Because!” Was all Echo sputtered out, crying too hard to answer. 

“Was it because Papa put you in time out?” Clarke asked, very concerned with what was going through her daughter’s mind. 

When Echo shook her head, Clarke grew more and more puzzled. 

“Then what did Papa do that makes you think that he hates you?” 

“He said I’m a disappointment.” The little girl cried, putting her head against Clarke’s chest. 

“I see.” Was all Clarke said, putting the pieces together. 

“If I’m a disappointment, that means he hates me.” Echo explained, clinging hard to Clarke. 

“Echo, Honey, Papa used his words wrong. He didn’t mean that you’re a disappointment, he was disappointed with your actions. Papa should have said, 'Echo, I’m disappointed in your behavior.' That’s what Papa should have said to you. That way you would have known that it was your actions that he wasn’t happy with, and not you yourself.” 

“Hmph.” Echo grunted, crossing her arms and pouting. She wasn’t going to forgive Bellamy that easy. 

Clarke realized that Bellamy was the one who needed to talk to Echo about this, so she was going to let her daughter be cross about the matter until he can work it out with her. 

It wasn’t long until the door to the cabin opened and John and Octavia appeared. As soon as she saw her brother, Echo climbed down from Clarke’s lap and ran over to her brother. 

“John I’m sorry I punched you. I didn’t realize that you pushing me was an accident and I was mad. I’m really sorry.” 

“It’s ok Echo.” John said, pulling his sister into a hug. Now that they were on good terms again, Echo pulled John over to the table and the three started to play with the paper dolls that Octavia pulled out of the little box. 

“Where’s Papa at?” Clarke asked, getting up from her chair. 

“Outside cleaning the fish.” John said, and Clarke walked to the door, spotting Bellamy by one of the stumps that he cleaned the fish on. 

“I’ll be outside by Papa if you need me.” She told the children before walking out the door. 

“Hey. Get any good fish?” 

“Yeah. We’re going to have a good supper tonight.” Bellamy said smiling at his wife. 

“I talked with Echo after you left. She understands that what she did was wrong and she and John made up.” 

“That’s good.” 

“There is something wrong though.” 

“What?” 

“Echo has it in her mind that you don’t love her anymore.” 

“Where’d she get that idea from?” 

“When you told her that you were disappointed in her. You should have been clearer Bell. You should have said that you were disappointed in her actions. You know how Echo is. You need to be clear with her because she takes everything literally.” 

“What did you tell her?” 

“I told her that you misspoke, and there is nothing that will make you stop loving her. She was still upset about it though so I think that you’ll need to talk to her about this.” 

“Ok. I’ll talk to her after supper tonight.” Bellamy agreed, before going back to cleaning the fish. 

Later than night after supper, Bellamy sat down with Echo and the two talked through everything. It was only about seven minutes after the start of the conversation when they reached a mutual understanding and everything was good again. Bellamy understood that he had to be more clear with his words when it came to his daughter, and Echo understood that Bellamy would always love her, no matter what. 

As the sun set in the sky, Clarke helped Echo and John get ready for bed, before tucking them into the trundle bed. She tucked Octavia into her bed too, before sitting down in her chair and taking up her mending. Bellamy sat in his chair next to her, reading the newspaper that he got in town that morning. 

“Bellamy?” 

“Yes Clarke?” 

“When is the next time you planned on going into town?” 

“Well, pretty soon actually. Since the trip this morning was special, to get the plow, I didn’t buy anything else. Why?” 

“We need some more salt for preserving. I also need some more fabric.” 

“Fabric for what?” 

“The kids are growing. I need to make the girls new dresses and John some new shirts and pants. Plus, Octavia needs new shoes.” 

“Ok. We’ll go back into town on Wednesday.” Bellamy decided, putting the paper down. 

Clarke nodded and went back to her mending. Once she finished the shirt she was working on, she put it down and went to get ready for bed. After a while, she and Bellamy went to bed, falling asleep almost instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize if the ending of this chapter seems abrupt, but since the first three chapters only focus on one day in the life of the Blake family, I had to end it somewhere. I think I'm going to make the next chapter a time jump, so I can get on with the family moving to their new home and their covered wagon adventures on the prairie.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'll update soon!


	4. Heading Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blake family's journey begins.

Months passed and soon it was time to go. It was the middle of February and the ground was covered in a thin blanket of snow. It wasn’t too deep where the wagon would get stuck, but it was enough to remind the Blake family that winter wasn’t over yet.

Throughout the past week, Bellamy had been loading things that they wouldn’t need in the little house anymore into the wagon. The Blake family didn’t have much to start with, since Clarke and Bellamy didn’t believe in spoiling the children with unnecessary items. Boxes that held plates and cookware were put in the wagon, along with the trunk of summer clothes. Nestled at the top of the trunk was the family Bible, with all of the important documents that the family owned stuck between the pages. Clarke’s old school books from when she was a student and a teacher, and her slate, were placed in the trunk for safe keeping. The small box that held Octavia and Echo’s paper dolls was also put in the trunk to avoid bending and tearing. The tablecloth and towels were washed and placed in the wagon, tucked into the nooks and crannies of the corners for extra cushion. The washtubs, gardening tools and larger items like the butter churn and plow were securely tied to the outside of the wagon. Barrels that held salt, cornmeal, and flour were secured to the outside too, along with two barrels of water. That was all Bellamy and Clarke could do for the time being. 

The morning of the move, Bellamy would take the straw ticks from his and Clarke’s bed, Octavia’s bed and John and Echo’s trundle bed and place them in the wagon and cover them will all the blankets and pillows in the house, so the children had a cozy place to sit and lay during the day, and they had enough space to sleep at night.

In the weeks before the last week in the house, Clarke and Bellamy had killed the chickens, two pigs, and the cow for food, because the person who bought the farm did not want additional livestock, since he had animals of his own. 

The morning of the move, Clarke woke all the children up before dawn, feeding them and dressing them in all of their warm clothes. While she was doing this, Bellamy was moving the straw ticks and bedding to the wagon.

While Clarke tied the string to Octavia’s hood, Echo stood in the house, looking at how bare it was. Everything the family had owned was in the wagon, except for the bed frames, tables and chairs. They didn’t have room for them, and Bellamy could just make new ones when they arrived at their destination. Octavia and Echo were both holding their rag dolls and John was holding the little wooden man that Bellamy had made him, as they waited for Clarke to steer them out of the house.

After Bellamy stretched the canvas over the wagon boughs, he tied Blossom to the wagon and hitched Rose and Violet, the other horse, to the wagon.

“Alright Clarke, I’m ready when you are!” He called as he walked back to the house.

Clarke came out with the kids, and Bellamy helped her into the wagon. Clarke sat in the box, getting the bed ready for the children and he handed the children up to her one by one, first Echo then Octavia and then John. As soon as Clarke tucked the kids in, she set the three big piles of furs that Bellamy handed up to her for trading and tucked them at the foot of the bed area. Once he had helped Clarke sit on the wagon seat, the last thing Bellamy did was hang up his gun on special hooks he attached to the wagon boughs, and hung the pouches of gun powder and bullets next to it, where he’d be able to reach it easily. After tucking a buffalo robe around him and Clarke, he started the horses and the family was off. That was the last of the little farm.

It was quiet as the wagon rolled across the path to town. The sun started to rise as the family made their way closer to town and when they arrived, Bellamy parked the wagon at the posts in front of the same store that he and Echo had gone to when they got the plow. Before the family left the community behind forever, Bellamy wanted to trade his furs for any last-minute things they’ll need for travel. Because it was the last  time they would set foot in the store, everyone in the family went in. Clarke and Bellamy were looking products over and considering the essentials while the children wandered around the store, looking at all the wonderful items on the shelves.

Echo stood by the fabric again, looking at the pretty patterns, when she heard two women behind her, looking at the hats.

“That’s Clarke Griffin isn’t it?” The lady in the green hood said, pointing to where Clarke was standing, at the opposite end of the store.

Echo perked up when she heard that, Clarke was her mama.

“Well she married the Blake man years back, remember?” The other lady, wearing a yellow hood, responded.

“I don’t know how he puts up with her, she surely let herself go. All tan and her figure  is something else. She probably doesn’t even know what a corset is.” The first lady said, and the two laughed, before walking over to the counter to look at the lace gloves on display.

Echo felt her face fall when she heard them speak like that. In her mind, her mama looked like a queen. She loved how her mother had a tan from working outside in her garden during the summer, and washing clothes in the warm sunshine. And sure, Clarke was curvier than some of the ladies that were drawn in the Godey’s Lady’s Book that Bellamy brought home every once in a while, but that just meant there was more of her mama to hug.

All of a sudden, Echo felt like her throat was going to close up and tears were threatening to fall. She quickly walked over to Clarke, wanting to be by her mama. She pressed her face against Clarke’s skirt and Clarke looked down and smiled, happy to see her daughter.

“Hello Sweetie.” She cooed, before she realized that something was wrong. Echo was trembling and when the little girl looked up from where her face was against her mother’s skirt, Clarke could see that there were tears on her face.

“Echo, what’s wrong Sweetie?” Clarke asked gently, picking her daughter up and carrying her out of the store to the wagon. 

“Some ladies were mean to you Mama.” Echo cried, trying to wipe tears away.

“What do you mean? What ladies?”

Echo pointed through the door and Clarke looked up to see the two ladies that Echo had overheard, still looking at the fancy gloves.

“I see.” Clarke said, not surprised at all. The lady in the green hood was  Ontari Winter and the lady in the yellow was Josephine Lightbourne. Clarke had gone to school with them when she was younger and they were just as mean, judgmental and petty as they are now.

“What did they say?” Clarke asked. She honestly didn’t care about what their opinion on her was but she still wanted to know what made her daughter so upset.

“The green lady said that she doesn’t know how Papa puts up with you because you’re tan and she said you don’t know what a corset is.”

Clarke put a hand over her mouth and let out a little laugh. “That’s all she could come up with?” She asked, glancing at the two women. “Echo, it’s fine. I used to go to school with those girls and they’ve said worse things to me before.”

“Why did they act like it was shameful for you to be tan Mama? And what’s a corset?”

“A corset is a type of undergarment that women wear under their dresses. It helps shape the body and make us appear slimmer. They are extremely uncomfortable however, so I stopped wearing one after I married Papa. They aren’t easy to farm in, and I didn’t want to hurt you while I was expecting you and John.”

“Why is it bad to have a tan?”

“Well you see Echo, I’m tan because I spend time outside in the summer. John isn’t quite old enough to help Papa with all the chores and farm work so sometimes I have to go out and help him harvest the corn or in the barn, so I have a tanner complexion compared to them.”

“Why would they think that helping Papa is bad?”

“Because those two women were raised in town, they’ve never had to work a day in their lives and in all the style magazines and with the attitudes back east, women are supposed to have a pale complexion. The women that come up with these ideas have only done inside work, and many people think that it’s not a woman’s place, doing work outside or making money. There’s nothing wrong with having a tan though, especially if it comes with hard work.” 

Echo thought about that. She always knew that her mother was a hard worker. She’s heard many stories of when Clarke was a young girl, thirteen and fourteen years old, spending her summers working at the seamstress’ in town. Being incredibly smart, she passed the teacher’s examination at sixteen and taught at the little school house for two years before marrying Bellamy at eighteen. After that, she worked hard as a mother and farmer’s wife, raising a family, keeping a house and helping with farm work when Bellamy needed her. To Echo, Clarke was the hardest working woman in the world.

“We needn’t worry about what they have to say anyway. We’re happy, healthy and have a good life. I am fortunate enough to have a wonderful husband, and three beautiful children. Anyone who would find fault in that is only jealous and bitter.”

Before Echo could respond, Bellamy was by Clarke’s side with John and Octavia. He was holding a bundle with all of their essentials in it.

“What’s going on? Why is Echo crying?”

“Oh, she overheard Josephine and  Ontari gossiping about me is all. Nothing serious. Plus, we’re never going to see them again after we leave anyways. No skin off my nose if they don’t like me.” Clarke smirked.

Bellamy nodded and after loading the merchandise and children back into the wagon, the family was off, ready to start their adventure.


	5. Disagreements and Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of their new adventure. Plus, a meltdown from Echo causes a disagreement between Clarke and Bellamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Y'all! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I wanted to thank everyone who has read, left kudos and/or comments. Your support means the world!
> 
> For this chapter, there is a content warning, there is implied and referenced past child abuse. This is the only chapter that it will be discussed though, just so y'all know.
> 
> Oh and another thing, I planted two little Easter eggs in the chapter, things that will foreshadow later chapter events, in case you wanted something to look for.
> 
> Here's Chapter 5!

As the wagon rolled away from the town, Clarke and Bellamy talked amongst each other and the children sat up on the bed and played quietly with each other. There wasn’t much that they could do, since they were limited to the bed in the wagon. With Clarke’s permission, Octavia opened the trunk and pulled the school books out, so she could read the little stories and lessons to John and Echo. That eventually lead to Octavia and John teaching Echo her letters and starting to teach her to read. 

To say that Clarke and Bellamy were immensely proud when they heard Echo read the letters from the first page of the reader was an understatement. 

Bellamy stopped the horses at noon so the family could eat, and the children could run around and stretch their legs for a little bit. Even though they couldn’t waste a lot of time after lunch, the children still had the chance to get plenty of exercise.  

As Bellamy was giving the horses some water, Clarke was trying to round up the kids so she could put them in the wagon and they could be on their way. Bellamy was planning on driving for about four more hours before they would stop and make camp for the night. The way he had it planned, they’d cross the frozen Mississippi River the next day, before they stopped for lunch. 

Octavia and John made it easy by coming to the wagon exactly when Clarke called them. Echo however, had other ideas. To her, it was boring in the wagon. She didn’t want to keep traveling, she wanted to go home. 

Clarke noticed that her daughter wasn’t listening to her, so while Bellamy put Octavia and John back in the wagon, she went over to see what was wrong. 

“Echo, we have to get going again. Come on.” 

“No.” Echo said firmly, crossing her arms. 

“No? Echo, are you disobeying me?” Clarke asked, to make sure that her daughter knew she was treading on thin ice. 

“I don’t wanna go anymore. I wanna go back home!” The five-year-old cried, tears starting to well up. She stomped her feet against the ground for good measure, prepared to have a meltdown if she needed to. 

“Echo, that home isn’t ours anymore. We are going to our new home.” Clarke explained, lifting up her skirt a bit and kneeling down so she could be eye level with her daughter. 

“No!” Echo screamed, starting to cry. She didn’t want to get back in the wagon. 

Clarke, knowing what the problem was right away, picked her daughter up and carried her to the wagon. She handed Echo to Bellamy and got up on the wagon seat, before holding out her arms. Bellamy looked at his wife strangely but handed Echo up none the less and joined Clarke up on the wagon seat, before starting the horses again. 

As soon as Echo had started to exhibit signs of a meltdown, Clarke knew that it was because the little girl was overwhelmed. The family has never done anything like this before, and they’ve never been this far away from the farm either. Knowing that they would never see the farm again after driving away was jarring for Clarke and Bellamy, but it was worse for Echo, because up until now, her whole world had been inside the confines of the farm. 

The farm was home for Clarke and Bellamy for many years, and it’d be hard to get used to at first, but they’ve experienced enough changes to know that it’d be ok.  

Bellamy, was born on a farm five miles west from their hometown in Wisconsin. Clarke was born in the little town, and lived there her entire life until she married Bellamy and they moved to the farm a few miles north from town. Even Octavia had her experiences with moving from the farm she was born on to Clarke and Bellamy's. But for John and Echo however, this was an entirely new experience. 

Clarke knew that this change in routine was overwhelming for Echo, and the fact that the children had woken up so early and were all very tired was probably adding to her distress. 

Because of this, Clarke sat Echo on her lap, cuddling her close, allowing the girl to cry it out. She hoped that Echo would eventually tire herself out and fall asleep. 

Eventually Echo calmed down and fell asleep against her mother, just like Clarke had planned. Octavia and John were both fast asleep on the bed and everything was peaceful again. Since the children were sleeping, it was the perfect time for Clarke and Bellamy to talk. 

“You know Clarke, Echo isn’t going to get far in life if you keep coddling her like that.” He said, nodding towards the sleeping child in his wife’s lap. “She’s not a baby anymore. She’s a big girl now.” 

“Bellamy, what’s it hurting? She’s calm now. Plus, as of right now, she is the baby, no matter how big she gets.” 

“She’s big enough to know that when you call her over to the wagon, she needs to obey you. I heard her say no to you and she needs to learn that she can’t do that.” 

“Oh, she’s a good girl, she was just a little tired is all. I don’t see the need to raise a fuss about it.” 

“If you don’t show her some discipline, she’ll keep acting up because she’ll believe that she can get away with anything.” 

“Bellamy.” Was all Clarke responded, not liking the sound of this one bit. Though the way they parented was the same, Clarke knew that Bellamy had some reservations on her discipline techniques. When they got married and had John, Clarke was the one who suggested that they explain things to the children and have a mutual understanding with them. With Clarke’s parenting methods, the strictest punishment that the parents gave out was having to sit on a chair in the corner. Clarke knew that Bellamy sometimes disagreed and didn’t think that it was enough. 

“All I’m saying is, if she keeps disobeying you, maybe a spanking would do her some good.” 

A sharp inhale from Clarke was all it took for Bellamy to stop talking. In that moment, he knew he screwed up. Clarke’s father died when she was three years old. Two years later, when she was five, her mother married her step father, Marcus Kane. Marcus was horrifically abusive to Clarke, utilizing his belt, a buggy whip, a wooden spoon, any implement in reach really, if she was anything less than perfect in his eyes. As she grew older, he was less physically violent towards her and grew more manipulative. At age thirteen and fourteen, Clarke worked for a seamstress during the summer and every week when she got her pay, Marcus would steal it from her and take it for drinking money. He did the same with her wages from when she was a school teacher. All the while, Clarke’s mother, Abby, just stood by and allowed this to happen, not doing anything to stop it.  

It wasn’t until Clarke turned eighteen and married Bellamy when she was able to escape her step father’s clutches and finally be safe. After her wedding, Marcus took Abby back to New York to live and nobody was happier than Clarke was to see them leave. She hasn’t spoken to them since. 

Because of her upbringing, Clarke was strictly against any form of corporal punishment when it came to disciplining her children, and after learning about her past, Bellamy had promised to never raise a hand to her or their children. 

“Clarke, I’m so-” He tried to apologize, before she cut him off. 

“Don’t.” Was all she said, concentrating entirely on Echo. The little girl was starting to shift a bit on Clarke’s lap and she knew that she needed to put her to bed. 

“Stop the wagon. I want to put Echo on the bed.” Clarke instructed. Bellamy immediately did as Clarke said and once Echo was tucked in by Octavia and John, they started up again. 

“Clarke, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested that.” Bellamy said, being sincere. “I made a promise to you after we got married that we wouldn’t hit the children and I intend on keeping that promise. I’m sorry Love.” He finished, giving Clarke a kiss to the cheek. 

“I accept your apology. You are right on one aspect though. Echo is a big girl now, so besides timeouts, if she is naughty, she can help out with more chores that have been Octavia’s. She’s big enough to wipe the windows, sweep the floor and fold laundry. What happened today will be a warning. If she does it again, she’ll dry the dishes after I wash them for the whole day that she is naughty, and the following day she’ll have to stay in my sight at all times.” 

“Those sound like reasonable punishments.” Bellamy agreed, willing to let Echo’s behavior after lunch go just this time. 

Bellamy drove for about another four hours before stopping to make camp for the night. They were right on schedule with where they needed to be. Right before lunch time the next day, they’d be able to cross the Mississippi River and drive straight down until they reached Kansas. 

While Bellamy went to find firewood, Clarke woke the children and started to prepare supper. During this time, she also explained the new rules to them, since they would apply to all the kids, and not just Echo. Naughtiness would be punished with more chores and less free time. 

When supper was finished, the family gathered into the wagon and got in their beds, falling asleep in the quiet outdoors. 

 


	6. The River

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blake Family crosses the Mississippi River.

The next morning, the family woke up early and after a quick breakfast, they headed out. In order for Bellamy’s plan with crossing the frozen river before noon to work, there wasn’t any time to waste.

It was a calm and quiet day as they went along, and it was a bit warmer than the day before. This was why it was essential for the family to cross the Mississippi River that day.

If they waited any longer, the chances of the warmer weather thawing out the river would be greater and then it would be extremely hard for the family to cross, and even more dangerous.

They arrived to the banks of the Mississippi River at 11:20, according to Bellamy’s pocket watch, and as the horses stood still, waiting for Bellamy’s command, Clarke turned around.

“Octavia, John, and Echo. Please lay down on the bed, be quiet and don’t move an inch. Papa needs to think and concentrate so we can get across safely. Just because the ice is solid doesn’t mean that it won’t be dangerous.”

“Yes Clarke.” Octavia said, pushing back the covers so John and Echo could get under them.

“Yes Mama.” The two youngest said, seeing that Clarke was serious.

Once the children were settled and quiet, Bellamy started the horses again and the family was off, with the wagon going slowly across the frozen river.

It was dead silent, the only sounds being the clicking of the horses’ hooves on the ice and the various creaks coming from the wagon. Octavia and Echo were holding hands and John had his hands over his eyes. All the children were afraid because they knew that one wrong move could cause the wagon to break through the ice, killing them all.

They were trying to think of other things, happier things, to keep their minds off of the dangerous river, and it wasn’t long before the wagon lurched forward and they were up on the bank again, this time, in Minnesota.

Echo sat up, and let out the deep breath she had been holding and saw that Clarke was still clinging to the seat with a white knuckle  grip .

This scared Echo, because she had never seen her mother look so frightened before in her life. 

“Mama?” She asked, her question causing Clarke to look at her.

“Yes Darling?”

Echo opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She was still trembling and Clarke noticed that both John and Octavia looked shaken just like her daughter.

“Oh, it’s ok. We’re ok.” She reassured.

“I was afraid that we’d break through the ice.” Octavia said, her voice shaky. “We don’t have to cross it again, do we?”

“No Octavia. We won’t cross the Mississippi River again.”

Octavia nodded before laying back down on the bed and hugging her rag doll close to her.

“Clarke, I think we should drive for an hour more, and then we can stop for lunch. I want to get the wagon away from the river as far as we can so the children won’t be afraid.”

“Whatever you think is best, Bellamy.” Clarke said, smoothing her skirt down.

Bellamy started the horses again and drove for about forty minutes before stopping the wagon and taking his gun off of its hooks.

“I’m going to look around, see if I can get a deer or some geese.” He said as Clarke got down from her spot.

“Be safe.” Was all she said as she helped the children out of the wagon.

While Bellamy was out hunting, Clarke was getting some supplies out of the wagon to make lunch with. Bellamy had parked the wagon by a little wooded area so Clarke tasked Octavia, John and Echo with collecting firewood.

Once she got the fire going, Clarke noticed that the children stayed close to the wagon, their behavior unlike it was the day before.

As they waited, they heard a gunshot fire out, with another one a minute later.

The kids froze in their spots but Clarke was quick to calm them.

“Don’t worry. That’s just Papa’s gun. Maybe he shot us some meat!”

 Luckily, Clarke was right and Bellamy appeared from the woods a few minutes later, holding two big rabbits.

“The woods  are full of game Clarke! Will this be enough or will you need me to go get a few more?”

“No Bellamy. This should be enough for rabbit stew.” Clarke smiled as she took the rabbits from him.

Clarke went right to work, skinning the rabbits and preparing them to go into the kettle. It wasn’t long until the meat was cooking and lunch was ready.

“Mama?” John asked as he sat down next to Clarke.

“Yes John?”

“Are we in Kansas yet?”

“No John. We are in Minnesota. We won’t be in Kansas for a while yet.”

“Oh.”

“We just have to go through Iowa, a little bit of Missouri and then we’ll be in Kansas, Son.” Bellamy said, sitting down next to John.

After the family finished eating, Clarke, Octavia and Echo cleaned the dishes and once they were packed back up, the Blakes were off to continue their journey.

The family drove southward until Bellamy’s pocket watch said 5:30 pm. They were lucky this time, because they came upon a vacant house, that was made to be used by travelers to stay the night. Nobody owned it and the Blakes could use the house until they set off again.

It was weird to Echo, being in a cabin that wasn’t their own, especially since there was no farm to go along with it. She much preferred making camp out on the prairie, and she was jealous of her father, who was going to be sleeping in the wagon that night, to guard it.

Between the time that the family ate supper and Clarke tucked the children into bed, Octavia sat on the floor with John and Echo on either side, and she read from one of the school books from the trunk. That way her niece and nephew could be entertained and not bother Clarke.

Eventually, the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars and moon came out. It was then that Clarke put the school book away and helped the children into their sleeping clothes.

“It’s time for bed! Another big day tomorrow!” She sang as she tucked the covers around the kids and kissed them all goodnight. Once the children were all snug in the bed, she sat down by Bellamy and the two talked for a while before he went out to the wagon and she joined the kids in the big bed.


	7. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blake's journey is over

Over the next weeks, the Blake family’s routine stayed the same. Wake up, eat breakfast, travel until lunch, set up camp and eat, travel until mid-evening, and then set up camp for the night. Sometimes, if there was plenty of game in a specific area, Bellamy would have them set up camp and they’d stay for a few days at a time, giving Clarke time to do laundry and tidy up some things in the wagon. During their travels, they crossed more creeks than they could count, and took a raft across the racing Missouri River. One day, about seven weeks after the family departed from their little Wisconsin farm, Bellamy stopped the wagon in the middle of the prairie, at 10:00 in the morning. This confused the children, since they usually stop for lunch at noon. 

“Here we are! This is where we’ll build our house.” Bellamy said happily, and Clarke gave him a hug. 

“Papa this is the middle of nowhere.” Echo said as he lifted her out of the wagon. 

“Well we’ll certainly have our privacy, won’t we?” Bellamy joked, giving Echo’s braid a playful tug. 

“How far away is the nearest town?” Clarke asked as she tied Echo’s sunbonnet strings tighter. 

“Thirty miles to the East.” Bellamy responded. “We’re far enough away to have our privacy, but close enough to get to town within a day or two.” 

“That’s good. Our trips to town back home weren’t that frequent and we lived a little over two miles away. We can manage thirty.” 

“We can have everything we’d ever want here Clarke. There’s space for crops, plenty of game, and there’s a creek a mile away with enough fish to feed a city! We’ll live like kings out here!" 

“I’m glad you see it like that Bellamy.” Clarke said, as she helped him untie the canvas cover from the wagon. 

Using the wagon cover, they pitched a tent and unloaded everything from the wagon. The last to be moved was the wagon box itself, and Bellamy drove off toward the creek driving only the wagon skeleton. 

“Where’s Papa going?” John asked Clarke. 

“Papa’s going to the creek to get logs for the house.” She explained as she escorted the kids into the tent. “For right now, this tent will be our home. Let’s arrange some stuff around so it’s nice and welcoming when Papa gets back.” 

Over the next week, Bellamy spent his days hauling logs from the creek bottoms, taking breaks every few days to go hunting. He needed enough logs to build a nice house for the family, and a nice stable for the horses. 

It took two weeks for Bellamy and Clarke to build the walls of the cabin, and another two weeks for them to build a sound stable for the horses. The canvas that had been covering the wagon, and then turned into a tent, was spread across the open roof, until Bellamy could make a roof out of boards. The last things that Bellamy and Clarke did was make a sturdy door for the house and a door for the stable. Bellamy also made a nice fireplace out of stones he got from the creek, but he didn’t need Clarke’s help with that project.  

Now that the house was basically finished besides the roof, Clarke was able to finally make it feel like home. She was able to cook inside now, and do chores like she did back on the farm. 

One day, while Bellamy was busy outside making boards for the roof, Clarke was sitting at the table with her children, having a little school session with them. Since they were thirty miles from the nearest town, going to school would be impossible. Luckily, Clarke was a school teacher before she married Bellamy, so she was able to teach them at home. 

As she was teaching Echo how to read further sections in the reader, John was sitting beside her with the slate, working out addition and subtraction problems. Since Octavia was older, she was looking at her lesson in the speller by herself. This wouldn’t last long, however. 

When Bellamy came in the house for a drink of water, the warm breeze floated in and Octavia grew restless. She didn’t want to study anymore. She wanted to be able to run around and play like Echo did with John. She was a big girl though, almost eleven years old, and that meant she had to start acting like a lady all the time. She hated it.  

Suddenly, Octavia slammed the speller shut and cried out, “I don’t want to study anymore!” This startled everyone, since Octavia is usually quieter. 

“Octavia!” Clarke scolded, looking at her sister in law. “Young ladies do not raise their voices like that. I’m trying my hardest to raise you into a proper youn-” 

“I don’t care! I don’t want to sit in the house and study and do work all day! I want to have fun!” Octavia interrupted, before clapping her hand over her mouth. She looked at John and Echo and saw their mortified faces. They knew that it was extremely rude to interrupt Bellamy and Clarke. Such naughtiness gets punished in the Blake house. 

“Octavia, come with me.” Bellamy said sternly, pointing out the door. Before he left, he grabbed one of his belts from the wall and brought it with him. 

“Bellamy, don’t.” Was all Clarke said, though by the look he gave her, she knew that he had made up his mind. 

Even though Bellamy promised to never hit Clarke or his children, Octavia was a different story. Bellamy and Octavia’s parents used spanking as a form of discipline and Bellamy carried on that disciplinary tactic when it came to Octavia. While Clarke did have a say in raising Octavia and her wellbeing, because she was Bellamy’s sister, he saw her as his personal responsibility. Behavior like this would never fly with Bellamy and Octavia’s parents, and Bellamy felt that Octavia must be punished accordingly. 

As soon as they got outside the cabin, Bellamy could see Octavia eyeing the belt. She was scared and he knew it. Though she’s been spanked before, it’s happened so rarely, because she was always so good. 

Seeing how scared she looked, Bellamy sighed and went back into the house, hanging the belt on its hook. When he reappeared, he took Octavia’s hand and the two started to walk along the prairie. 

“I want you to apologize to Clarke when we get back. It’s very rude to interrupt your elders and you know it.” 

“Yes Sir.”  

“Now, about your outburst. Would you like to talk about it?” 

“I just wish I wasn’t growing up. John and Echo still get to run around and play, and I have to stay inside and help Clarke. Even if I get free time, Clarke has me doing stuff like embroidery. I know I’m getting too big to play with the paper dolls and my rag doll, but I wish I wasn’t. And now with school in the mix, it feels like I’m either working or studying. I just want to play again.” 

“I see.” Bellamy said, starting to understand his sister. 

“I also miss Mother and Father badly.”  

“I do too O. Every day.” Bellamy agreed. Even though Octavia knew that she could talk to Clarke about most things, the topic of their parents was something that only Bellamy could truly understand. 

“You know Octavia, if you are ever feeling overwhelmed and in need of a break, or if you want to take some time to play, you can always tell us. Everyone needs a little break now and then. Plus, you’ve helped Clarke out so much with the household responsibilities, it’s only fair that you deserve a break. When we get back home, after you apologize to Clarke, I want you to play for the rest of the day. Have fun. Your days of being a child are limited and I want you to be able to enjoy them.” 

“Oh, thank you Bellamy!” Octavia cheered, giving her brother a hug. 

When the two were back at the house, Octavia went up to Clarke, who was getting lunch ready. 

“Clarke?” 

“Yes Octavia?” 

“I’m really sorry for interrupting you. I won’t do it again.” 

“I forgive you Octavia. Thank you for your apology.” 

Bellamy then went on to talk to Clarke, telling her about what he discussed with Octavia. Clarke agreed that Octavia deserved some play time so after lunch, that’s what they did. Octavia, John and Echo played outside, running, jumping and having a good old time. As evening grew closer, Clarke and Bellamy sat on the door step and watched the kids have fun. 

“Clarke?” 

“Yeah Bell?” 

“Next week, I need to go to town. Since it’s farther away, I’ll be gone for three days. Do you think you can manage that long without me?” 

“I think we can. It’ll only be a couple days.” 

“I’ll fill some of the barrels with water so you have enough and won’t have to walk a mile to the creek every day. When I get back from town, I’ll dig a well.” 

“Sounds good. How much money do we have?” 

“We have plenty. Since we didn’t have to spend any on the materials for the house yet, we have enough. I’ll need to buy some nails for the roof and after I get the well dug, I’ll put the roof on.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Clarke said as she stood up. “I’m going to get supper started. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”  

“Ok.” Bellamy said as he continued to watch his children play across the prairie. 


	8. Bellamy Goes to Town Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy goes to town and something isn't quite right with Clarke.

The time had come for Bellamy to make the  three-day trip to town. The night before Clarke packed a bundle for him filled with enough food to last the trip. He’d take one day to get to town, one day to conduct his business and then a third day to travel back.

The morning of his departure, he hitched the horses to the wagon and set off just as the sun was rising in the sky.

Because Bellamy had to leave right away, Clarke did the barn chores that Bellamy usually did, like cleaning out Rose and Violet’s stalls. It was easier when the two horses weren’t there.

John was taking care of Blossom and it was peaceful in the barn. In the house, Octavia was mixing cornmeal so Clarke could make cornmeal cakes for breakfast and Echo was bringing more firewood that was stacked along the side of the house.

The creek that was a mile away from the house was in a wooded area, and Bellamy had cut plenty of firewood to last the family for two weeks in case something came up and caused him to have to stay in town for an extended period of time. They didn’t need that much wood right now, only for when Clarke had to cook, because they were further south than when they were in Wisconsin, and the late spring weather was rather warm.

“Mama?” John asked as he refilled  Blossom’s feed box.

“Yes John?”

“What was Papa going to get from town?”

“Well, he needed nails so he could put the roof on when he got back. I also need him to bring more cornmeal and baking essentials home. He also needed to get seeds so we can plant crops and start a garden.”

“What kind of crops will we have?”

“Papa wants to plant wheat, corn and potatoes.”

“Will we get animals beside horses, just like in Wisconsin?”

“Papa and I have talked about it and we are hoping to buy more livestock soon.”

“Is that why he made the barn so big? For the future?”

“I suppose it is. Are you ok with finishing up in here? I have to go start breakfast.”

“Yes Mama.”

“Alright then. Remember to wash up when you come in.” Clarke reminded as she walked out of the barn.

Clarke made her way into the house and saw that Echo had filled the  woodbox to the top and was now setting the table. Octavia had the cornmeal mixed up and she was waiting for Clarke to get back.

“Clarke?”

“Yes?”

“Since it’s such a nice day, can we wash the clothes outside, in the shade of the house today?”

“I don’t see why not.” Clarke answered, before suddenly grasping the chair, dizzy all of a sudden.

“Mama are you ok?” John asked as he entered the house.

“Yes John, I’m alright.” She answered, though her face said otherwise. Octavia noticed that  Clarke’s face looked pinched, as if she was in pain, and she was paler than usual.

“Clarke, I don’t think you’re ok. Are you feeling ok?” Octavia asked, going over and touching her sister in law’s forehead.

“I’m fine Octavia. Just a little tired is all.” Clarke said as her bout of dizziness passed. “Let’s get to making those corn cakes.” She added, trying to be cheerful.

Breakfast went on without a fuss and after Echo and Octavia gathered the laundry and filled the washtub with water, they went to work, helping Clarke with the washing. John even helped too, taking the clothes from Octavia and Echo, hanging them on the clothes line to dry. Octavia and Echo worked hard, rinsing the clothes while Clarke scrubbed the garments with soap.

When the laundry was finished, Octavia noticed that Clarke looked really tired, so she told her to sit in her rocking chair and rest. 

Clarke was too tired to argue, and she dozed in her chair while Octavia tried to keep John and Echo occupied with something quiet to do so Clarke could rest.

The ten-year-old knew that no matter how much Clarke said otherwise, something was wrong and she didn’t know what it was.

For most of the morning until lunch, Octavia took Echo and John right outside the door and sat them in the grass so they could play school. That way they were close enough in case Clarke needed them, but they were far enough away to give Clarke peace and quiet to rest.

While John quietly recited a story from the reader, Octavia taught Echo how to add and subtract numbers.

Clarke still wasn’t awake at noon so Octavia fed her niece and nephew some bread and butter. It wasn’t much, but it’d hold them over until supper. After they ate, Octavia decided to continue with the lessons.

“Octavia?”

“Yes John?”

“Is Mama sick?”

“I’m not sure. She doesn’t have a fever but she isn’t feeling well so I need you to behave and be nice and quiet for me. If it’s quiet, she can rest and maybe she can feel better.”

That was enough to quell John and Echo’s worries for a little while and things started to look up when Clarke called them inside for supper. She still looked pale but more well rested.

Because she was up  and on her feet again, Octavia and the younger kids didn’t mention it again. After John and Echo were tucked in to bed later that night, Clarke tucked Octavia in and sat on the edge of her bed.

“I wanted to thank you Octavia. For what you did today. I know you kept the little kids occupied and you made them lunch today. Thank you.”

“I wanted you to get as much  rest as possible. I didn’t know if you were sick or not.”

“Oh Darling, I’m fine. I’m going to be ok. Trust me.”

“Ok.” Was all  Octavia said as Clarke kissed her  forehead. She knew that Clarke wouldn’t lie to her so if she said she was ok, then she was ok.

“Alright then. Good night Octavia. I love you.”

“I love you too Clarke.”


	9. Bellamy Goes to Town Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next two days that Bellamy is gone, plus a couple surprises at the end.

   


The next morning, Clarke was feeling a bit better and it was an easier day for her to rest because after breakfast, she spent most of the day in her chair mending clothes and sewing a new shirt for Bellamy. Octavia was working on a quilt and John was reading again. Echo was sitting by Clarke’s feet with her own needle and thread, making a dress for her rag doll.

John and Octavia had done the barn chores so Clarke didn’t have to move around that much. All three children helped out as much as they could inside so Clarke didn’t exert herself as much.

With the exception of a few dizzy spells and a couple bouts of nausea, Clarke seemed to be doing better than the day before, but Octavia still kept an eye out for her in case she got sick.

All around, the day was pretty boring, and nothing big happened. Everyone was missing Bellamy and both the children and Clarke were longing for his return.

Later that night, after all the children were tucked in, Clarke was sitting up in her chair knitting when all of a sudden, she heard a couple howls from outside the house. She froze and listened, knowing that there were wolves outside the house. Clarke wasn’t scared, since they had strong walls and sturdy doors on both the house and the barn. Bellamy made sure than no outside threat like wolves could get to them when he built the house.

All at once, the wolves howled again, this time loud enough to wake the children. This caused Echo to shoot up in bed and scream.

“Echo it’s ok. They’re just wolves.”

“Mama.” John said, looking just as scared as his sister.

Clarke didn’t respond but instead opened her arms, signaling that it was ok for them to come over if they wanted.

Echo took the invitation and jumped out of bed, running over to her mother. She sat on Clarke’s lap and John sat down on the floor next to Clarke’s feet. Not wanting to be alone, Octavia got out of bed and joined them, sitting next to Clarke’s feet on the other side.

“Mama?” Echo asked, snuggling closer to Clarke.

“Yes Sweetie?”

“Papa took his gun, so if the wolves get in, how would we kill them?”

“Echo, we don’t need to kill the wolves. The way Papa made the door and house so strong and sturdy, the wolves won’t be able to get in.”

“Promise?”

“I promise Sweetie.”

The wolves still were outside the house when Clarke decided to go to bed. Because the children were so scared, she let all three of them sleep in the big bed with her for the night to make them feel better.

The next morning the wolves were gone and while Echo and John were in the barn, Octavia was helping Clarke with breakfast. Clarke was moving a bit slower than usual and Octavia was still concerned.

“Clarke? Are you sure you’re ok? You don’t look well.”

Clarke looked toward the door to make sure John and Echo weren’t coming.

“Octavia, can you keep a secret? Just until Bellamy gets back?”

“You mean from John and Echo?”

“Yes.”

“I mean, if you want me to.” Octavia said, unsure of what was going on.

“The reason why I’ve been acting differently, why I haven’t been myself lately, is because I’m expecting a baby later this year.”

“A baby! Does Bellamy know?”

“Yes, Bellamy knows. He’s known for about two weeks now. We wanted to tell Echo and John when he gets back.”

“I promise I will keep the secret until Bellamy gets back.” Octavia said, hugging Clarke. She was happy because babies were good and Clarke wasn’t sick.

Since the housework was all done the day before, Clarke and the children relaxed outside again, since it was a nice day and Clarke was feeling way better than she has been the last few days.

“When do you think Papa will be back?” John asked as Echo handed Clarke a handful of wildflowers that she picked along the house.

“Well, he should be leaving town today. It’ll take most of today for him to travel, so he’ll probably be back later tonight or early tomorrow morning. You’ll most likely be asleep by the time Papa gets home.”

“Oh.” John said, a look of disappointment crossing his features.

“I know you miss him John, but don’t you worry. Papa will be here before you know it!”

“Yes Mama.”

Just like Clarke predicted, Bellamy still wasn’t back by the time she tucked the children into bed, and he wasn’t back when she woke up early to start the day. As she was sweeping the floor, she heard the wagon coming close so she went outside to greet her husband. 

“Good morning Clarke! Did you do alright without me?”

“Yes Bellamy. We managed.” Clarke smiled, happy to have him back home. Bellamy smirked and went over to the side of the house, where he had the wood stacked up. He grabbed an armload of wood and Clarke looked at him, confused.

“Bell, what are you doing? We have enough wood.”

“You’ll see.” Was all he said as the two went into the house where the children were asleep.

All of a sudden, without warning, Bellamy purposefully dropped the armload of wood on the floor, the loud crash jolting the kids awake.

“Papa!” Echo screamed, scrambling out of bed with John right behind her. Bellamy picked both of his children up and Octavia hugged him tight.

“ Oh, it’s good to be home.” He said as he set John and Echo down.

“How about you all get dressed while Mama and I unload the wagon, I have a surprise for you all!”

As the kids hurried to get dressed, Bellamy lead Clarke out to the wagon. The moment he opened the back, she put her hand over her mouth.

“God Almighty!” She breathed, seeing that Bellamy had two panes of glass for the window holes that he had cut into the house.

“Oh Bellamy, glass windows!”

Along with the glass, there were bags of feed for the horses, cornmeal for the kitchen, seeds for planting, and plenty of white fabric for Clarke to start making dresses, diapers and caps for the new baby. By this time, the children were all dressed and were standing by the wagon, in awe of all that Bellamy had.

“Are you ready for the last surprise?” He asked, gesturing towards a bulky item covered with a quilt.

When everyone nodded, Bellamy pulled the quilt off and chaos erupted.

Sitting in the wagon, all black, shiny and new was a cookstove.

“Bellamy, a cookstove?” Clarke asked, in complete disbelief.

“Of course! You had one in Wisconsin, why’d Kansas be any different?”

“But I can manage with the fireplace.” Clarke argued, worried about how much money Bellamy spent.

“I don’t want you having a fire going as much, especially during the summer. Besides, nothing but the best for my girl.” Bellamy smiled, giving Clarke a kiss.

“Papa, what’s all that white fabric for?” Echo asked, pointing to the small bolt of fabric that Bellamy had brought home.

“I already told Octavia. I wanted to wait until you got home before I told Echo and John.” Clarke said when Bellamy gave her a look.

“I see.”

“Tell us what?” John asked, wanting to know.

“How about we unload the wagon first, then Mama and I will tell you our news, and then while the girls get breakfast around, you and I go out to the barn and do the chores?” Bellamy asked his son, wanting to get some stuff done right away.

“Ok.” John agreed, and the family worked together, taking the items out of the wagon and bringing them to their appropriate places.

Once that was all done, the family gathered inside and Clarke sat down in her rocking chair, with Bellamy putting his chair beside hers.

“Ok. So, you know how I haven’t been  feeling that well the past few days?” Clarke asked her son and daughter.”

“Yeah?” Echo said, extremely confused. Why would they talk about Clarke being sick if it was supposed to be a good surprise?

“Well, the reason why I was feeling poorly is because I’m expecting a baby later this year.”

“A baby!” Echo squealed, suddenly excited.

“Is it a sister or a brother?” John asked, wanting to know right away. He was hoping for a brother, because with his sister and aunt already here, he wanted another boy.

“ Unfortunately, John, we won’t know if the baby will be a boy or a girl until it arrives.”

“I want a sister!” Echo yelled out, bouncing in her seat.

“I want a brother.” John countered, not wanting a sea of girls in the house.

“What do you want, a boy or a girl?” Octavia asked Bellamy and Clarke, wanting to know.

“We don’t mind whether it’s a boy or a girl, as long as the baby is happy and healthy.” Clarke said, thinking that it was dumb to want a specific gender when they can’t control it in the first place. 

“Exactly.” Bellamy said. “We were blessed with this opportunity to have another child and we will be happy with whatever we get. The baby will be loved no matter if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“Mama?”

“Yes Echo?”

“You said the baby would be arriving later this year, where is it?”

“Well Echo, you see, the baby is inside of me. Right here.” Clarke explained, patting her stomach. When she saw that Echo looked very confused, she continued. “As the months go on, the baby will grow and my stomach will get bigger until it’s time for the baby to come.”

“How’d it  get inside of you?” 

“You’ll find that out when you’re older, Darling.” Clarke said, in a voice that told all of the kids that the answer wasn’t appropriate for them to hear.

Clarke and Bellamy answered the kids’ questions for a little while more, and when everything was answered, Bellamy and John went to do the barn chores and Clarke and the girls started to make breakfast. 

“Papa?”

“Yes John?”

“Now that you’re back, what are we going to do today?”

“Well son, today I’m going to install Mama’s new stove. Then I’ll put the glass on the windows when that job is done. After that, I need to dig a well and then put a roof on the house and the barn.”

“May I help you?”

“With some of the projects yes. Thanks for asking Buddy.”

When they were done in the barn, Bellamy and John went in for breakfast and after the family ate, the girls went to work inside, while John and Bellamy went to do their jobs that needed to be done. Everyone worked cheerfully, happy that Bellamy was back and the family was able to be together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the chapter five easter eggs has been revealed! (When Clarke told Bellamy that "as of right now, Echo is the baby" that was foreshadowing that she wouldn't be the baby of the family for long, because a new baby is coming) And I see what y'all are commenting about Clarke and let me tell you, you have no idea what's coming :)


	10. A New Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new Blake has arrived.

Six months later, a lot has happened at the Blake farm. The family could actually start calling the property a farm because now it looked like one. After Bellamy installed the cookstove and put the glass in the windows, he dug a well and put a roof over both the house and the barn. As a surprise for Clarke’s birthday, he put a floor of nice, smooth wooden planks into the house and he also got a wheat, potato and corn crop planted. While Clarke planted a vegetable garden, Bellamy built a nice fence surrounding the property and now it felt just as cozy as the farm back in Wisconsin. 

The best surprise though, was that over the past months, Bellamy brought four chickens, two pigs, two oxen and a dairy cow home to join the three horses as livestock. Clarke was happy to add fresh eggs and milk to the children’s diets and all the animals were so sweet and gentle. 

For more security, Bellamy bought a dog that the children named Prince, and while he was kind to the family, he was wary of strangers and very protective of the farm. Prince was a very good dog. 

Clarke was eight and a half months pregnant and luckily, Bellamy found out that the family had a neighbor three miles to the east of them, and the oldest daughter had training on being a midwife so when it was time for the baby to come, Clarke would be well cared for. 

Because the baby was due any week now, Bellamy essentially had Clarke on bedrest. This pregnancy caused more problems with morning sickness than any of her previous ones did and besides going to the table to eat, helping occasionally with making meals and going to the outhouse, Clarke stayed in bed. 

Clarke’s pregnancy meant that the children had more work to do. Octavia, who was now eleven years old, did much of the work that Clarke used to do and Echo, who was about two months away from turning six, helped her. John, now seven and a half, was out helping Bellamy most of the time, especially since there were crops to tend to and more animals to look after. All in all, even though it was hard work, the farm was successful and Bellamy was happy that they made the move when they did. 

One day, after lunch, Bellamy and John were outside in the cornfield looking everything over when Echo came running out to get her father. 

“Papa! Papa! Mama needs you!” 

“Is it her time?” Bellamy asked, concerned. 

When Echo nodded, Bellamy ran into the house and told all of the children what to do to help Clarke, telling Octavia that she was in charge. 

“I’m going to go get the midwife, I’ll be back soon.” He said, knowing that the baby wouldn’t be coming right away. They still had some time. 

When Bellamy and the midwife arrived back, Bellamy shooed the kids out of the house and told them that they couldn’t come back in until he said so. Because of this, the three went into the barn to talk and be by the animals. 

“Is Mama going to be ok O?” Echo asked, worried.  

“Of course. Your mama’s strong and healthy, plus she’s done it before with you and John. She’ll be fine.” Octavia reassured, pulling Echo into a hug. 

Even though it seemed like hours, it wasn’t long until Bellamy came into the barn with a huge smile on his face. 

“The baby is here. When you come into the house, you must be quiet and you must give Mama space. She is very tired and needs to rest so you can’t be jumping all around her ok?” 

“Yes Sir.” All three said seriously. 

“Alright then. Let’s go meet your baby sister, shall we?” 

“A sister?” Echo gasped, before clapping her hands and jumping up and down. She took Bellamy’s hand and he led the way back to the house with John and Octavia close behind. 

Everyone was quiet when they entered the house, and Clarke was propped up in bed holding a small bundle. The baby was sleeping soundly in her mother’s arms and the midwife was walking around, putting some stuff in her bag and getting things for Clarke. 

“Hi my lovelies!” Clarke said cheerfully. She looked tired and a little bit sweaty, but the smile on her face made it completely worth it. “Would you like to see your sister?” 

When all the children nodded, Clarke propped the baby up a bit so they could get a good look at her. Since she was sleeping and her eyes were closed, it was hard to tell who she looked like, but her face was very pink and round. There was also a small tuft of blonde hair on her head that had a slight curl to it. 

“She’s awful small.” John observed. 

“All new babies typically are. You all were about this size when you were born.” Bellamy explained. “She’ll get bigger really quick though.” 

“Does she have a name?” Octavia asked, wondering what Clarke and Bellamy agreed on. They had a small list of names for either gender but they hadn’t picked one before the birth. 

“Yes. Papa and I have decided that we are going to call her Harper.” 

“Ooooh! I like that name!” Echo whispered, lightly clapping her hands again, enough to convey her excitement, but no so loud that she’ll wake the baby. 

Now that they’ve met the baby, the kids went to finish their work so Clarke could rest. Once Clarke was settled, the midwife went back to her house, and Bellamy went to work with getting supper around. Now that the baby was finally here, Clarke would be able to do all of her work again like before she was pregnant, but for a week or so, Bellamy only wanted her to rest and focus on the baby. 

Later that night, while Bellamy and John were doing the barn chores, Bellamy decided to check in with his son. 

“John, are you happy with your new sister?” 

“Yeah, I mean it would have been nice to have a brother, but I’m just happy that she and Mama are both ok.” 

“Me too. I wanted to thank you John. The past few weeks, you’ve really stepped up when it came to being a big help to me and Mama. You also listened to Octavia and rarely fought with Echo and I appreciate that.” 

“You’re welcome Papa.” John said, giving his father a hug. 

When Bellamy and John went back into the house, they saw that Clarke was propped up in the bed, dozing off. Harper was fast asleep in the new cradle that Bellamy had made and Octavia was sitting on her bed with Echo in front of her. The girls were both in their nightgowns and Octavia was brushing and braiding Echo’s hair. 

“Wash up and get ready for bed John.” Bellamy instructed as he turned back the covers on the trundle bed for Echo. 

After John was ready for bed, Bellamy tucked both him and Echo in, hugging and kissing them goodnight, before going over to Octavia’s bed. She was still up, brushing and braiding her own hair. 

“Octavia?” 

“Yes Bellamy?” 

“Now that the baby is here, and we don’t have to be on edge waiting for her anymore, I want you to take tomorrow for yourself. Play, work on your embroidery, read, do whatever you want. You’ve done the work of two women the past few weeks, doing most of the chores and helping me take care of John and Echo. You deserve a day to yourself.” 

“Are you sure Bellamy? Because I don’t mind doing the work, and taking care of John and Echo is fun. Plus, it’s good that I’ve been learning how to run a household because it won’t be long until I’m married and have children of my own.” 

Bellamy winced when he heard that. No matter how old Octavia got, he would always see her as his baby sister. He did not want to think about her getting married and having children of her own. Not yet at least. 

“Now O, you’re only eleven. You have a long while until you have to think about marriage or children for that matter. Focus on being a kid for a while. You won’t be one for long.”  

“Ok Bellamy. I love you.” She said as he tucked her into bed. 

“I love you too O.” 

Since there was nothing else to do, Bellamy got ready for bed and got in beside Clarke. She was sleeping, but Bellamy knew that it wasn’t a deep sleep. Now that there was a new baby, Clarke was going to be more alert, to hear when Harper would need her. As he settled down, she opened her eyes and looked at him. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi. How are you feeling?” 

“Fine. A bit tired and a little sore. Same as when I had John and Echo.” 

“Well, you did a fantastic job today Clarke. I’m so proud of you.” 

“Thanks Bell.” 

“I want you to go back to sleep though, you need all the rest you can get. Can you do that for me?” 

Clarke smiled and gave Bellamy a peck on the lips before shutting her eyes. 

“Good night Bellamy. I love you.” 

“Good night Clarke. I love you too.” 


	11. Harvest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Autumn means that it's time for the crops to be harvested.

Now that Harper has been born and Clarke is able to do all of her work again, Bellamy was able to work outside with John all day. It was about time for the crops to be harvested and Bellamy was overjoyed because everything was healthy and grew well. First, he and John harvested the corn crop and after that they harvested the wheat and potatoes. Since there was still plenty of game and fish, plus eggs and now vegetables from the garden that Clarke planted, Bellamy put half of each crop in the wagon so he could take it into town and sell it to make money. The other half went into the house for the girls to put up for the winter. While Clarke and Echo put all of the potatoes in barrels for storage, Octavia worked hard, taking the grains of wheat and using the coffee grinder to grind the wheat into flour. 

While Bellamy was far away, in the town trading and selling crops and animal skins from hunting, the family was hard at work.  When John wasn’t doing the outside barn chores, he was in the house helping his mother. After the potatoes were properly stored, Clarke worked to separate the kernels of corn and put them on a pan to roast in the oven so they could later be ground into cornmeal. While Octavia was hard at work grinding the wheat into flour and Clarke took care of the corn, John and Echo were out in the garden, picking all of the vegetables that were ripe. All of these vegetables would be put up for the winter too, after Clarke preserved them properly.

Autumn was a very busy time for the Blake family. While Clarke and the children worked hard to preserve the food that they’ve grown, Bellamy would need to chop enough firewood for winter and go hunting so they could smoke and preserve enough meat in the smoke house. 

“Clarke?”

“Yes Octavia?”

“Once winter comes, what will we do when there are no more crops to plant?”

“Well, the past few weeks, we’ve been so focused on Harper and the harvest that we’ve been neglecting your studies. This winter, we’ll do each day’s chores but we’ll also have school sessions too. Just because we live in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean that you can’t be educated.”

With that, Harper started to cry for Clarke and she got up and went over to the cradle where the baby was laying. 

“Hello Baby.” Clarke cooed, kissing Harper’s chubby cheeks. “Is someone a hungry girl?” She asked, bouncing her against her hip.

“Octavia, can you do me a favor?”

“Yes Clarke?”

“While I feed Harper, can you go out to the smokehouse and get the prairie hen that Bellamy shot yesterday? It should be done roasting and we can have that with the rest of the cornbread from breakfast for lunch.”

“Yes Clarke.” Octavia said as she stood up from where she was sitting.

“Would you like me to call John and Octavia in for lunch?”

“Yes. Tell John and Echo that after they wash up, I want Echo to put the cornbread on the table, and I want John to set the table.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Octavia said as she walked outside. 

“John, Echo, Clarke wants you to go inside. We’ll have lunch soon. Wash up and then John you set the table and Echo; you need to put the cornbread on the table.” She said as she walked past the garden on her way to the smoke house.

When  Octavia came back with the chicken, she saw that Echo and John had done their jobs and Clarke was putting Harper back in her cradle.

After lunch, the family went back to doing their jobs and worked until it was time for supper. The next few days were just like that one, jam packed with so much work, preparing for winter, that the children and Clarke didn’t even have time to miss Bellamy. When he came home five days after leaving, it was as if he had just left that morning.

After Bellamy got back from town, he put the horses and wagon away and brought the money that he had earned from selling the crops and animals skins with him, giving it to Clarke. Clarke, being extremely resourceful, took the carefully folded bills and put them in the wooden carving of wildflowers.

Back after Clarke and Bellamy got married, Bellamy had taken off a piece of a round stump that had been in the yard at the Wisconsin farm and carved a scene of wildflowers into it for Clarke to hang up on the wall and make the house pretty. The carving also served a second purpose. Bellamy had created a secret back to the carving that lifted up and there was a compartment that Clarke could put the paper money. Since the carving was hung up on the wall as a decoration, nobody visiting the house would ever suspect that it had the Blake family’s life savings in it. A glass jar that Clarke kept locked in the trunk held the coin portion of the money and that trunk was locked tight. 

As Clarke hung the carving back on the wall, Bellamy took Harper onto his lap and held her, happy to be home.

“Clarke, I have some good news for you!”

“You do? What is it?”

“On my way back today, when I passed the Johnson’s farm, Peter told me that there is a new town being settled about two and a half miles north from here. There’s already a few houses, a church, and a store, and by spring they’ll have a school house built!”

“Oh Bellamy, that’s wonderful.” Clarke said, happy at the news. This meant that by the next harvest, Bellamy could do all of his business in this new town, and since they are close enough, the children could go to school.

“It’ll feel nice, living a bit closer to more people.” She added. The Johnson’s were their neighbors a few miles away, the ones with the daughter who helped Clarke with Harper’s birth. They were wonderful neighbors, but up until this new development from Bellamy, they were the only people that the Blakes had come in contact with since leaving Wisconsin.

“Indeed. And it’ll be nice for the children to start going to an actual school. Don’t get me wrong Clarke, you do a wonderful job with teaching them, but it’s not just book learning that makes a good education. They need to learn how to interact and work with other people too.”

“I agree.” Clarke said, nodding her head. “Though I will do everything to make sure that they are caught up when school begins, it will be easier for me to get things done when it’s just Harper here at home. And you’re right, the children need a social life beyond that of the family.”

“Then it’s settled. This winter you’ll work to make sure that the children are caught up with their studies so that they are with their classes, and then they will go to this new school in town once it opens in the spring.”

“It will also be nice for you to be able to use the store in this town, instead of the one thirty miles away. That way you can do all of your business in one day and we won’t have to worry about you not coming home.” Clarke said as she took Harper, who was now crying, from Bellamy and bouncing her on her hip.

“So, Bellamy, how did we make it out this fall? Did you get the prices that you wanted for the crops?”

“For the corn we negotiated it to the price that I wanted, and for the potatoes and wheat I was given an offer higher than what I originally had planned, so we made more money with those two than I expected that we would. Our first harvest on this farm was extremely successful and I hope each one after will be just as bountiful as the first.”

“So, you think that we made the right choice, moving down here?”

“Yes. We made the right choice at the right time. This little farm is something to be proud of.”

“Then if you’re glad, I’m glad.” Clarke said with a smile.

Bellamy gave Clarke a kiss as she sat down next to him and she patted his hand, happy that he was home again.


	12. Winter Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jealousy and boredom never mix.

Once the harvesting season was over, winter rolled into the area rather quickly. The winter in Kansas wasn’t like the winter in Wisconsin, mostly because there was barely any snow. It stayed in the high 30’s to low 40’s throughout the weeks, so if there was snow, there’d only be a dusting on the ground and it’d usually be gone the next day. The days that there was precipitation, it came in the form of a cold rain, sometimes with icy sleet mixed in. The bitter wind added to the miserable weather so Clarke kept the kids inside, to keep them from getting sick. Only John went outside every day with Bellamy, to do the barn chores, but other than that, the children needed Clarke and Bellamy’s permission before going outside.

Clarke and Bellamy knew that keeping the three older children cooped up in the house would cause restlessness, so they tried to curb any cranky behavior by keeping them busy.

Every day, in the mornings, Clarke had school sessions so the kids could keep up with their lessons, and in the afternoon she and Bellamy allowed them to play. While the kids liked having playtime every day, Echo found out that it was very easy to get bored.

Octavia was a big girl now, at eleven years old, and that meant that she didn’t want to sit with Echo and play with their dolls, neither rag or paper. She’d rather sit with Clarke and work on her sewing or read a book than play with Echo. Sometimes John was fun to play with, but he didn’t always want to play the same games that Echo did, so the two often kept to themselves.

To Echo though, the biggest disappointment was Harper. How could Echo be a good big sister and play with the baby when Harper didn’t do anything?

The only things that Harper did was eat, sleep and cry and Echo found the baby more annoying and bothersome than anything. Of course, she loved her sister, but she wished Harper was older, because she felt so lonesome despite being in a cabin surrounded by people.

“Mama when can Harper play with me?”

“When she’s a toddler she’ll be able to play with you. In two years or so, she’ll be walking and talking and you’ll be able to play with her.”

“But I want to play with her now!” Echo snapped, stomping her foot.

“Well I’m sorry Echo, but Harper is too little to understand how to play. You’ll have to wait until she’s older.”

“But by the time she’s old enough, I’ll be a big girl and I won’t  wanna play with a stupid baby!” Echo sassed, and she immediately regretted what she said when she saw Clarke’s head snap up in surprise.

“I beg your pardon Young Lady? What did you just say?”

“Nothing.” Echo murmured, hoping she’d get out of trouble.

“Really? Because I think that I just heard you call the baby stupid. Are you telling me that I’m wrong?”

“It’s just, I  wanna play with someone, and Octavia’s too old for me, Harper’s too young, and John doesn’t  wanna play with me. I want it to be how it used to be when I could sit on your lap and stay with you before stupid Harper showed up. I can’t even sit on your lap anymore because you’re always holding her! I hate her!” Echo yelled, shocking everyone in the house. 

As if on cue, the outburst caused Harper to start crying from her cradle and that was the final straw for Echo. The six-year-old crossed the cabin and pushed the cradle on  its side, the baby rolling out onto the floor.

“Shut up!” Echo screamed, before she felt Bellamy jerk her backwards to get her away from the cradle. Clarke was over in a flash, picking up the baby and Octavia put the cradle upright.

“Shame on you.” Was all Clarke said to Echo, before Bellamy pulled her over to the corner. Echo’s eyes widened at how mean and harsh her mother sounded. She’s never heard Clarke used that tone of voice with her, or John and Octavia before.

“Papa.” Echo cried, putting her arms up as Bellamy sat her on a chair. All she wanted was her father to hug and hold her, to tell her that it’d be ok, but he only gave her a stern look and shook his head at her.

“Your behavior was appalling Echo. You  oughta be ashamed of yourself.” Was all he said before leaving Echo to sit by herself.

This caused Echo to sit and cry, feeling like her heart was going to crack in two. She heard Bellamy ask Clarke questions, if the baby was hurt or not, and if there was anything he could do.

Once everything was sorted out and Harper had stopped crying, Echo could hear Clarke and Octavia working to get supper around. When it was time to eat, Echo was isolated from the family even more when Octavia came over handed a bowl of venison stew to her, meaning that while the family gathered at the table, Echo had to eat her supper by herself in the corner.

Echo sat in the corner for most of the afternoon and evening, and she had a horrible headache because she had been crying for that long too. She felt extra horrible when she heard Clarke cooing at the baby, telling Harper how much she loved her.

“Mama hates me. If she had to pick a daughter that she loved more, she’d pick Harper before she’d even think of picking me.” She thought to herself as she stared at the boring wall.

After what felt like ten years, she heard Bellamy, John and Octavia go out to the barn to do the night chores, and Echo knew that meant that Clarke would talk with her soon. She wouldn’t have sent Octavia out with the boys if she wasn’t.

A couple seconds after the door shut, Clarke broke the silence.

“Echo, come here.” Echo noticed that unlike the last time her mother spoke to her, Clarke’s voice was calm and kind.

She slowly got up off her chair and walked over to where Clarke was sitting, and stood before her. She looked at her feet, refusing to make eye contact with Clarke and she fidgeted as she felt her mother staring at her.

“Echo, come sit.” Clarke instructed patting her lap. She wanted Echo to sit so they could talk it out and cuddle.

When Echo didn’t move or answer, Clarke looked at her daughter with a concerned look on her face.

“Echo?” She tried again, needing to know what was going on.

Truth be told, Echo was terrified of her parents. The last time that Clarke spoke to her, she used a rough tone, and then Bellamy ignored her when she needed a hug. She’d rather hug a rabid badger or let Prince bite her face off than sit on Clarke’s lap at the moment.

“Echo, can you look at me please? Can you look at Mama?”

The only response she got from her daughter was a slight shake of the head and without warning, Echo burst into tears and started to sob again. She ran back over to the corner and pushed the chair to the side, sitting down on the floor facing the wall. Seeing that something was wrong, Prince walked over to her and started to lap up the tears that were falling down her face. 

Once Echo turned and moved her legs a bit so Prince could sit between them and comfort her, Clarke realized that the talk that they needed to have would have to wait.

Echo just sat and hugged Prince, crying into his fur, holding onto the dog like he was her lifeline. At the moment, Echo thought that Prince was the only family member that truly loved her, no matter if she was naughty or not. Even though Bellamy bought the dog for the whole family, it was common knowledge that Prince and Echo had a special bond. Prince was Echo’s dog.

Bellamy, Octavia and John were extremely confused when they came in and saw Echo hugging Prince and crying into his fur. Bellamy thought that Clarke and Echo would have worked it out by now but it seemed whatever happened while they were in the barn made it worse.

Wanting to give her daughter some space, Clarke told everyone to leave Echo alone and they went on to have some quiet time in the cabin.

After about twenty minutes, Echo, exhausted from her crying, flopped on her side and Prince copied her, laying down on his side too. After crying face down on the floor for ten minutes, Echo eventually fell asleep and once she was out like a light, Clarke picked her up and dressed her in her nightgown before tucking her into bed. The girl was so tired she didn’t even wake up, and once she was tucked in, Prince walked over to the trundle bed and laid down on the floor by Echo’s side, to provide comfort if she woke up.

The next morning, Bellamy and Clarke noticed that from the moment she woke up, Echo was acting strange. The little girl woke up before Clarke even roused John and Octavia and instead of getting dressed and brushing her hair like usual, Echo got out of bed and sat in her nightgown and long underwear back on the floor in the corner where she was the night before. Prince joined her again and she didn’t cry this time, only sitting and petting the dog. 

She didn’t talk, not even when Clarke greeted her cheerfully. When Bellamy tried to joke with her, she only gave him a passing glance and made a beeline to the corner. Bellamy was lucky that Echo even looked at him. Just like the night before, Echo refused to look at Clarke.

Octavia and John tried to talk to Echo before breakfast but she just ignored them. She refused to come to the table for breakfast and when Bellamy set a plate of cornbread with molasses down for Echo to eat, the little girl took the plate and gave the meal to Prince, not wanting to eat the food that her mother prepared. She was still upset with Clarke, and she wanted nothing to do with her, and that meant eating her food.

All day, Echo just sat in the same spot and stared at the wall. Prince got up after a while and left her to be by herself.

Everyone in the family was concerned with her, especially when they saw the little girl flinch every time Harper started to cry.

Echo refused lunch and it upset her when she heard Bellamy and Clarke discussing what to do with her.

“Clarke, this is ridiculous. She’s refusing to eat, talk, she’s not even dressed for the day. Letting her do what she wants will turn her into an entitled brat.”

“Well, what do you expect me to do? She won’t even look at me.”

“Do you want me to-”

“Bellamy Blake, I swear to God if you say what I think you’re going to say, I’ll-”

“Clarke, she is being unreasonable. Maybe a spanking will do her some good, make her cooperate”

“Absolutely not. Something is wrong and we’ll only make it worse if we hit her. Do you even know how traumatic that could be for her, getting a spanking for the first time in her life when she’s already feeling badly? That’d just make everything worse.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Bellamy said after a moment.

“I know I’m right. We have to let her take her time with this. It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have scolded her the way that I did.”

“No, you reacted reasonably considering what she had did. If Harper would have rolled out of the cradle to the left instead of the right like she did, she would have rolled into the fireplace and died. You reacted like how any proper parent would.”

“I just wish my Echo would talk to me again. I miss her. It’s all my fault Bellamy, I should have given her more attention, it’s reasonable for older siblings to be jealous of a new baby, and Echo is no different. She went from being the baby to being an older sibling and I think yesterday was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“She’ll come around. She can’t stay mad at you forever.” Bellamy reasoned, and he got up, going over to get the box that held the paper dolls.

“I have an idea! Octavia, John and I will take care of the housework and the school lessons and the baby, and Clarke, you spend time with Echo. You two can play with the dolls.”

“I don’t  wanna play with Mama.” Echo seethed, her first words since her outburst yesterday. “I don’t want you and I don’t want Mama. You two hate me.” 

“What? We don’t hate you Echo. What makes you think that we hate you?”

“Mama was rough with me and you didn’t hug me when I needed you.”

“Echo, Mama was rough with you because you almost killed the baby. What you did was incredibly dangerous. Do you understand that?”

“I hate being in the middle. You love John the most because he’s the only boy and you spend all of your time together and Mama loves Harper the most because she’s the better daughter. I’m just plain old Echo.”

“Now Echo, you know that’s not true. Mama and I don’t have favorites. We love all you children the same.”

“Well no matter what, Mama’s never  gonna love me like she did before I hurt Harper. She’s never going to love me again.”

“Echo, you and Mama need to work this out. Go sit with her please.” Bellamy pleaded, wanting this to get sorted through.

Echo looked at Bellamy, and then finally at Clarke, seeing her mother for the first time in almost twenty-four hours. Clarke looked heartbroken. Echo slowly got up and walked over to Clarke, before the mother pulled her daughter on her lap and held her close.

“Now first things first, I need you to get those thoughts of me and Papa having favorite children out of your head. We love all of you equally and nothing in the world will change that. I’m really sorry that I scolded you so harshly yesterday. You weren’t expecting that and I know that it frightened you, but you need to understand, your behavior scared me, Echo. Never in a million years did I ever expect that you’d try and hurt the baby. If Harper had rolled out of the cradle in the opposite direction than she did, she would have rolled into the fireplace and burned up, and I know you would never want that.”

“I don’t hate Harper.” Echo said shyly. “I just don’t like how excited I was for her to come, but now I can’t even play with her because she’s too little. And I’m not your baby anymore. I miss being your baby.”

“Echo, you and your siblings will always be my babies, no matter how many more babies I have or how old you all get. You’re still my baby even though you’re six years old.”

“I’m sorry for hurting Harper, and being mean to you and Papa.”

“I accept your apology. Thank you Echo.”

“Am I still in trouble?”

“No, not anymore. However, if you ever do anything to harm the baby again, I will have to go against my beliefs and allow Papa to spank you. You cannot harm the baby ever again. Do you understand me Echo?”

“Yes Mama.”

Clarke gave Echo a tight squeeze and the two sat and rocked for the rest of the day, while Bellamy took care of everything else. It was nice for Clarke to spend the afternoon with her daughter, now that everything is good again between them.

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Clarke lay awake, thinking about how happy she was that the house was at peace again. As time goes on, things will get better between Echo and Harper, and even if there are bumps in the road along the way, Clarke knows that they will get through them together, as a family.


	13. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school for the Blakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you begin this chapter, I need y'all to know that I'm throwing historical accuracy out the window for a few aspects of this AU. The school that the children are going to will be integrated and even though in real life, interracial marriage wasn't legal in the United States until 1967, in this story it will be legal, because I have plans for Lincoln and Octavia later on.
> 
> I hope you guys don't mind if there are historical inaccuracies but I have a story that I want to tell and in order for that to happen, I need to change some things.

At last the bitter winter ended and spring was in full bloom. Since the temperatures were warmer and there was barely any snow, the ground thawed quicker than it would have if the family had still lived in Wisconsin. Because the thaw happened so quickly, Bellamy and John were able to get the planting done rather quickly. Clarke and the girls worked in the garden and once every seed was in the ground, they were able to focus on other things, like school.

Bellamy had gone into town and found out that the new school was finished being built and they had a new teacher already picked out. Because of this, the spring school term would start the following Monday. That Saturday was a busy flurry for Clarke, for she had to gather around all of the children’s best clothes and make sure that they were washed and ironed properly. While she was ironing Octavia’s dress, Echo stood and watched her, nervous.

“Mama, what’s school like?”

Clarke smiled at her daughter, knowing that Echo was a bit scared. Octavia and John have been to school before, in Wisconsin, so they knew what going to school would be like. Echo however, didn’t have a clue. This was her first time going to an actual school.

“Well, it’ll kind of be like our little school sessions that we’ve been having here but with more children. You’ll be broken up into classes based on where you are at with learning levels. You’ll see when you get there. It’s normal to be nervous on the first day of school Echo, but John and Octavia will be there with you, so there’s nothing to be scared of.”

At last the day arrived. After morning chores and breakfast, Octavia, John and Echo put on their school clothes while Clarke fixed a lunch for them to take with. When it was time to go, Bellamy was waiting at the door for the kids.

“Papa will walk with you to and from school every day this week, just so you can get used to the path you must take. It wouldn’t do for you to get lost on the prairie.” Clarke said as she handed the lunch pail to Octavia.”

“Mama do we get to take the school books and the slate?” John asked, wondering where they were.”

“Papa said there was no need. The school had enough funds to be able to afford books and slates for every student. You will get them today.”

With that, Clarke gave all the kids a hug and a kiss and told them that she loved them. Then they were off, with Bellamy leading the way into town towards the school.

When they arrived, they saw that there were children playing in the school yard, waiting for the teacher to ring the bell. Octavia found a group of girls her age and started to talk to them, while John found some boys his age and started to run and jump around with them.

Echo looked around, trying to find someone to talk to when she spotted a girl standing off to the side. The girl was very small, she couldn’t have been more than five years old. Her dark brown hair hung in curls and her eyes were the prettiest green that Echo had ever seen in her life. About to go talk to her, Echo was stopped when the teacher came out, ringing a hand bell. It was time for school to begin.

When they got in the school, the teacher had everyone line up and she’d write down their names in her record book, so she’d be able to assign them a desk and sort them into classes. Because Echo was one of the younger girls in the class, she sat up front, and John sat on the opposite side of the room, more in the middle. Octavia, being one of the older girls in school was more towards the back, and on the boy's side, only a few of the older boys from town were there. All the other big boys would come for the winter term, when all the farm work was done.

The teacher, who told the class that her name was Miss Dow, sorted everyone into classes based on their learning levels, just like Clarke said she would, and then the school was silent with everyone starting to study.

Echo learned that the girl with the curly brown hair and green eyes was named Lexa Woods, and she was five years old. Miss Dow had assigned Lexa and Echo to be seat mates so Echo was looking forward to getting to know her.

One of the boys that John seemed to make friends with, Nathan Miller, was his seat mate, and Gaia Forest, one of the girls that Octavia had been talking to was her seat mate.

The first day went on perfectly fine. Because of Clarke’s teaching, Octavia, John, and Echo were perfectly caught up with the classes that they’ve been assigned to. 

Echo like recess the best, when she could run and play with the other little girls in the school. Lexa was nice, though she was extremely quiet. When she did talk, she had a stutter but Echo didn’t mind. Lexa was friendly to her and that was all that mattered.

At 4:00, Miss Dow dismissed school and the children filed out of the building. Octavia saw Bellamy standing by the stairs waiting for them and after all three children were accounted for, they started their walk home, telling their father all about the school day.

When they got home, they told Clarke about school and now that they were enrolled, after chores and supper, all three children sat at the table and went over the lessons that they needed to study, helping each other if they needed it.

As they sat, Echo felt happy inside. She liked school. She got to meet new people and learn new things and it seemed like there’d be a new adventure every day. After Clarke tucked her in for the night, she fell asleep almost instantly, wanting tomorrow to come so she could go back as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, there will only be two more chapters of this specific story. I'm planning on writing sequel, with a time jump taking place to make things more interesting. I'm already planning story two out as you're reading this so I should be able to update it in a timely fashion. Depending on my schedule, chapter 14 should be out either tonight or tomorrow afternoon, and then chapter 15 will be out sometime on Monday.


	14. Something's Not Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Echo is worried about her friend.

The rest of the school term was unlike the first day. Once Miss Dow had a routine down, the school followed it diligently. Echo excelled at school and so did John and Octavia. She found that school was easy and the new lessons weren’t hard for her to pick up. She felt bad though, because her seat mate was having a rough time. 

Lexa had a stutter so whenever Miss Dow called on her to recite from her lessons she struggled to speak clearly and sometimes she couldn’t recite her lessons at all because she hadn’t studied them the night before. Because she was so little Miss Dow cut her a bit of slack, but one day, three weeks into the term, she had had enough. 

It was morning and Echo had just finished reciting her lesson perfectly. 

“Very good Echo. Please go back to your desk and read from here, until here.” Miss Dow said, pointing out the pages in the book that she wanted her to read next. 

“Yes Ma’am.” Echo said quietly, going to her desk to study. After Echo, it was Lexa’s turn and she struggled through the lesson horribly. She stuttered almost every sentence and at the end, Miss Dow looked at her with a disappointed look on her face. 

“Lexa, I told you to work harder at home. You seem to not care whether you get a good education or not. Maybe this will teach you to be more grateful.” 

With that, Miss Dow reached into her desk and pulled out her ruler and instructed Lexa to hold out her hand. 

Echo flinched when she saw Miss Dow slap the ruler down against Lexa’s hand multiple times before making the little girl switch hands so she could repeat the action.  

“Maybe that will teach you to study harder and be more prepared.” Miss Dow scolded, before sending Lexa back to her desk. 

When Lexa sat back down, Echo squeezed her arm in support and later at lunch time, the two sat in the shade of the school house to talk about it. 

“Are you ok Lexa?” 

“I’m F-f-fine. Used to it.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“At home.” Was all Lexa said, eating her lunch. 

“Do your parents hit you at home?” 

“Only if I mess up with things. Pa says it is for my own goo-good.” 

“Mama and Papa don’t even spank us. That must hurt terribly.” 

“It’s not so bad. Yeah it hurts, but it won’t last forever.” 

“What about your mother? Does she hit you too?” 

“A few months before school started, Ma had a baby but they both died.” 

“So, it’s just you and your pa at home?” 

“No, I have a little sister, her name is Luna. She’s three. Do you have any younger siblings?” 

“Yeah, just one. Harper is the baby. Other than her, it’s just John and my Aunt Octavia.” 

“Octavia is your aunt? I tho-thought she was your sister.” 

“Well technically, she’s Papa’s little sister, but with how close in age she is to me and John, we consider her as a sister instead of an aunt.” 

Lexa nodded and then Echo looked and saw that some of the other children were coming close to the school house. During lunch, if a kid lived in town, they’d go home to eat, but since the Blakes lived so far away, they stayed at school. 

“Well, we better get inside so we’re not late.” Echo said, glancing down at Lexa’s hands. Bruises had formed on the backs of her hands from Miss Dow’s ruler and they looked stiff and a bit swollen. She felt bad for Lexa, knowing that she had gotten punished for something that she couldn’t control. 

Later that evening at home, Echo talked about it with her mother. 

“I just don’t think it’s fair. Lexa can’t control her stutter but Miss Dow punished her anyway.” 

“I agree. Miss Dow should be more understanding. Some children need gentleness and guidance when it comes to things like that. But if Lexa doesn’t know the lesson because she didn’t study, then that’s her own fault Echo. It’s not really your business anyway so you shouldn’t put your nose where it doesn’t belong.” 

“Yes Ma’am.” 

The next morning, Echo was surprised when the seat next to hers was empty. Lexa didn’t come to school and the whole day felt gloomy and lonesome without her there. When the afternoon came and school let out, Echo hurried home with John and Octavia. 

“Mama, Lexa wasn’t at school today.” 

“Maybe she was sick today Echo, you needn’t worry about it. She’ll be ok. Sit down and study.” 

But Echo couldn’t sit and study. She was too busy worrying about her new friend. While she sat at the table, she stared at the book but wasn’t absorbing any information off the page. She fidgeted as she sat and looked over and over the page, not even studying. 

Octavia noticed that Echo wasn’t studying, mostly because she hadn’t turned the page in ten minutes and and her fidgeting was shaking the table. 

“Echo for goodness sake, if you’re not going to study, stop bothering those of us who are.” 

“I’m sorry.” Echo said quietly, though she didn’t exactly mean it. 

“Echo why don’t you come here so Octavia can study?” Bellamy suggested, so Echo got up and went to sit on her father’s lap. 

“Papa I can’t study when I’m worried about Lexa.” Echo explained. “She’s my first friend outside the family and I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.” 

“That’s mighty thoughtful of you Echo, to care about your friend like you do. However, missing one day of school isn’t the end of the world. I bet you that she’ll be back tomorrow.” 

“Really? Do you really think so Papa?” 

“Well if she isn’t back tomorrow, she’ll probably be back by the end of the week. It’ll be ok.” 

“Ok Papa. If you say that it’ll be ok, I believe you.” 

“That’s my good girl.” Bellamy praised, before kissing Echo on the forehead and picking up her school book. “How about I help you through your lesson tonight? Would you like that?” 

“Oh yes Papa! Thank you!” She said and they got right down to work. 

The next morning, Lexa wasn’t there again but Echo didn’t worry, thinking about what her father had said. “Maybe she’ll be back next week.” She thought to herself as she studied at her desk. 

Unfortunately, Lexa didn’t return the next week or the week after that. In fact, it didn’t look like she was going to return at all. 

Having enough, one Friday, Echo made the decision that she’d go to Lexa’s house after school to make sure that she was ok. Octavia and John had agreed to go with her, and all they had to do was wait for the school day to end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might seem like a filler, but it's because the next chapter is a very big one. I'm so excited for y'all to see what I have planned!


	15. Finally Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recent events allow the Blakes to finally feel at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that I'd finish the story next week, but I just couldn't wait until then. :)

That Friday after school, instead of going home right away, Echo led the way down Main Street with Octavia and John following close behind her. The three were going to make sure that Lexa was ok. 

At the edge of town, towards the end of Main Street, stood Lexa’s house. If anyone could actually call it that. Octavia gave the building one wild glance. It was a small shack, with an outhouse out back. The building was so small, Octavia had no idea how the Woods family could fit anything inside. 

Echo knocked on the front door and after a moment, the door opened to reveal Lexa.  

The little girl was filthy from head to toe. Dirt and coal dust streaked her face and covered her dress. Her hair was matted and greasy, and was so tangled and knotted, it looked like a brush hadn’t been run through it in weeks. 

“Hi Echo.” Lexa said quietly, before opening the door a bit more. She welcomed the three inside and Octavia noticed that the room very cramped and tiny. In the back corner was a coal stove, that had only one burner on top for cooking food, a box that held the coal, and a table with tree chairs pushed against the wall. A door was to the left of the table leading to a different room. On the floor, a pile of blankets and two pillows were set up into a nest and at the table was a little girl, who everyone knew was Luna, Lexa’s three-year-old sister. 

On the table was a washtub with a washboard, and it looked like Lexa was doing laundry before the three arrived. 

“So, what are you do-doing here?” Lexa asked, sitting on the chair and going back to scrubbing a soot covered pinafore. 

“You haven’t been in school for the longest time.” Echo explained. “I was worried that something awful happened.” 

“No. I’m fine.” Lexa whispered. “Pa said that he needed me here to cook, clean and mind Luna. He said that girls don’t need school since the only thing that they are good for is keeping a house. We have to keep it down. he’s sleeping.” She said, pointing to the door. 

“In the afternoon?” John asked. 

“Two days ago, he got mad at me before supper. He too-took his bottle of whiskey and, and he went into his room and told me to leave him alone. He’s been sleeping since.” 

Hearing that, Octavia walked over to the door and opened it. 

“Hey! You can’t go in there!” Lexa exclaimed, not wanting to get into trouble. 

Octavia ignored her though and saw a man lying on the bed, his eyes closed. Three empty bottles were on the floor and Octavia noticed that the man wasn’t breathing. 

She checked his pulse and gasped when she didn’t feel one. Not knowing what to do, she left the small bedroom and shut the door behind her. 

“John, run home as fast as you can and go and get Bellamy. Now.” Octavia said, in the most serious voice John and Echo had ever heard her use. 

“Octavia what’s wrong?” 

She didn’t answer him though; she just gave him a look that told him to do as she said. 

“Echo, you stay here with Lexa and Luna. I need to go get the marshal.” 

“Why? Is everything ok?” Lexa asked, concerned. 

“No Lexa. Your pa is dead. He drank himself to death.” Was all Octavia said before she ran out the door to get Marshal Peterson from his office. 

By the time Bellamy arrived at the Woods house, Marshal Peterson was just finishing up with asking Lexa some questions. 

“What’s going on?” Bellamy asked, looking to the marshal for answers. 

“It looks like Titus Woods finally drank enough to kick the bucket.” He said, giving the two Woods girls a look of pity. 

“Where’s their mother?” 

“The big girl tells me that her ma died a few months ago. Apparently both sets of grandparents are dead and both parents are only siblings. There’s no kin left to take these two.” 

Bellamy looked from Marshal Peterson to Lexa, and saw how run down she looked. Titus must have forced her to do all the work of an experienced housewife, and for a five-year-old, that’s too much. 

“What are you going to do with them?” 

“Well I’m going to take them to my office, so we can get the body out of the bedroom. Then I guess we’ll gather their things and take them to the orphanage tomorrow in Independence." 

“Can my wife and I stop by later tonight? I need to talk to her about something.” Bellamy asked, getting an idea. Seeing how important Lexa was to Echo, and seeing how rough Lexa and Luna had it, he wanted to adopt them. 

Marshal Peterson seemed to catch Bellamy’s drift and he smiled warmly. 

“Of course. You take your time with your wife and we’ll see what I can do.” 

“Thanks.” Bellamy said, as he led Octavia and Echo out of the shack. 

When they got home, Bellamy spoke to Clarke outside and after about fifteen minutes, Clarke came into the house, put Harper in Octavia’s arms and told John and Echo that Octavia was in charge. 

“We need to go to town. We’ll be back before supper.” She shouted over her shoulder as Bellamy hitched the horses to the wagon. 

Octavia sat with John and Echo at the table with Harper on her lap and the three children started to study, to give them something to do while they waited for Clarke and Bellamy to return from town. 

Two hours after they left, they still hadn’t returned, so Octavia started to make a dinner of rabbit stew. Just as she was about to finish stirring and serve the food up, the door opened. 

Bellamy and Clarke entered the house, with Bellamy holding Luna and Clarke holding Lexa’s hand. 

“Lexa and Luna have been adopted by us; they are officially your sisters!” Bellamy cheered as he shut the door behind them. 

Upon hearing the news, Echo jumped up and down with excitement.  

The rest of the night was calm, since Clarke and Bellamy didn’t want to overwhelm either Luna or Lexa. After the girls ate, Clarke gave them both baths since they were so filthy, and put them in old nightgowns that Octavia and Echo had grown out of. She worked a brush through both girls tangled curls and braided their hair when it was smooth again. 

For the night, Lexa and Luna were going to share the trundle bed while John, Octavia and Echo shared Octavia’s bed. Since the next day was Saturday, Bellamy was going to take the whole day to make another trundle bed frame and Clarke would sew and stuff another straw tick so there would be enough beds for everyone. 

When it was time for bed, Echo went to sleep with a smile on her face, happy that her best friend was going to be ok and safe, now that she was a part of the family. 

The next morning, while Bellamy and John built a new trundle bed for Luna and Lexa to share, Clarke and Octavia took Harper and Luna for a little walk along the prairie. Since Luna was so young, and she didn’t have fond memories of her father, she was starting to warm up to the Blakes rather quickly, while Lexa was more cautious. Because she was fed, bathed, given clean clothes and a bed by Clarke and Bellamy, Luna automatically started to trust them. Plus, they were nicer than Titus ever was. Lexa was very grateful for what Clarke and Bellamy had done for her and her sister, but she was still apprehensive at first, afraid that even making a small mistake would make them want to give her and her sister back. 

While everyone was busy, Echo and Lexa sat in the shade of the house and just talked, happy to be in each other’s lives again, now as sisters. 

“You know Echo?” 

“What?” 

“Ba-back when we lived in town, that small sh-sh-shack didn’t feel like home. But this one actually does.” 

“Well I think it doesn’t matter what type of building you live in. It’s the people that you live with who make it feel like home.” Echo said. “No matter where you live, or how big your house is, if your family works together and loves each other, it’ll feel like a home no matter what.” 

“I like that.” Lexa said quietly and the two sat, silently thinking. 

“Now that you and Luna are here, it finally feels like a home. For the longest time, it felt like something was missing, and that something was two sisters.” 

“Oh Echo, thank you.” Lexa said, giving her new sister a hug. 

The girls sat and watched the breeze gently blow the prairie grass around. The scent of wildflowers floated around as the wind blew and Echo never felt more at peace. 

“It’s funny, back when we lived in Wisconsin, I always thought that the little farm would always be home. But then we moved here, and now I can’t think that I’d ever want to live anywhere else.” 

“I get that. It’s beautiful here.” Lexa agreed. Compared to living in a cramped shack, this farm looked like Heaven.  

Later that night, once all the children were tucked in and fast asleep, Bellamy and Clarke sat up in bed, taking it all in. 

“Back in Wisconsin, if you would have told me that we would move to Kansas, build a successful farm, have a baby and adopt two little girls, I would have told you that were crazy.” Clarke told Bellamy, smiling happily at him. 

“We’ve certainly been given many great blessings in life.” Bellamy agreed, holding his wife’s hand. “I’m just glad that I have you to share this adventure with me.” He said, and Clarke smiled again. 

“I love you Bellamy.”  

“I love you too Clarke.” He said, and the two laid down to go to sleep, happy that they finally had a place that they can call home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the first book! I'll be back next week with the first chapter of the next sequel! Thanks for coming along with me for this adventure, I can't wait to start the next one!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it and I'll see you all soon.


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